Prague, Sept 7 (CTK) – An exhibition of Slovak photographer Zuzana Minacova displaying a series of photos of various signs, banners and posters containing slogans from the era of Communism, which stand as a testimony to the propaganda of the regime, opened in the Slovak Institute in Prague yesterday.
“Sometimes, I used to fear someone would report me, when I had them [photos] developed. I believe the exhibition will say more about life during Communism than various scientific accounts,” Minacova said before the opening of the exhibition.
This is why various Communism campaigning slogans came back to life through her photos: “with the Soviet Union forever,” “Communism is the future of mankind,” “Lenin is still alive” or “long live the Communist Party” among others.
“They remind us of the era, when Communist campaigning made our streets and lives ugly,” Minacova said.
She didn’t just capture slogans, but also included naive images of smiling faces of a workers’ couple accompanied with the Communist symbols of the hammer and sickle, or of a Lenin’s profile, often juxtaposed with objects documenting the bitter economic reality, such as tinned meat in otherwise empty shop windows.
Minacova said she was convinced her mission was to document these scenes in order to preserve them for the future.
