You are kindly invited to the photo exhibition Paradoxes of Life by documentary photographer, curator and educator Matúš Zajac at the Gallery of the SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO Foundation at Zichy Palace, Ventúrska 9, Bratislava.
In his visual essay from 2015–2018, the author offers the story of a woman who, despite her
complicated health condition and an uneasy life, emanates positive energy and transmits it
to others by means of professional canistherapy as a form of service to children, oncological
patients, mentally handicapped and senior people. “I admit, I had nightmares after visiting
inpatient facilities, I couldn´t sleep. Petra told me at that time: Close the door behind you.
What is inside stays inside. Don´t take it home; otherwise, you´ll get mad. But now as I look
at those pictures, I´m simply destroyed,” told Matúš Zajac about his exhibition.
Matúš Zajac studied photography at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing
Arts (FAMU) in Prague and at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. He
published the books Podoby viery (The Forms of Faith, 2011), OUT (2014), and Anton Srholec
– Bezdomovec z povolania (Anton Srholec – A Homeless by Profession, together with Pišta
Vandal, 2015). He has multiple awards, including the Best of Photojournalism for editing
(.týždeň), the Journalism Prize, Czech Press Photo and Slovak Press Photo. Matúš teaches
photography at the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Department of
Journalism, and at the Secondary School of Art SSUŠAT. He is the expert supervisor of the
portal for documentary photography www.dofoto.sk, cooperates with different publishers
and magazines, and conducts theoretical and practical workshops. He regularly exhibits his
works at home and abroad.
The exhibition is on view till June 20, 2019.
