The weather was nice yesterday, sunny and pretty warm, so Jeff and I went for a walk in the Old Town. The Easter market on Old Town Square was packed with people who were probably as happy as we were to be able to stroll leisurely without having to dodge umbrellas and shiver with cold.

When passing through Ovocný trh, the square behind the Estates Theatre and Myslbek shopping mall, we ran into something peculiar. A multitude of tall, skinny, odd looking sculpture people was filling the center of the square. They stood motionless, patiently allowing live human beings to wind their way among them, stare into their faces and strike funny poses next to their naked bodies to have their pictures taken.

We recognized the sculptures as the unmistakable work of Czech artist Olbram Zoubek. As it turns out, the exhibition has been put up at the occasion of his 80th birthday, which falls on April 21. A selection of 110 sculptures presents Zoubek’s work from 1958 to present. If you think you don’t know who Olbram Zoubek is, just think of the striking Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the foot of the Petřín Hill at Újezd.

You can enjoy the unique open-air exhibition until June 4, 2006. I recommend it. Oh, and it’s free of course. Just don’t touch the sculptures.

Photos © jeffshanberg.com