Old's COOL | Postcards from the future
Elpida photographed young people's perceptions of their old age with senior models
How do young people today imagine their old age? Where do they see themselves when they are the age of their grandparents? This is the theme that opened the exhibition A Postcard from the Future, which was on display on the walls of Prague's Embankment from 15 June to 13 July 2018. It was organised for the fourth time by the pro-senior organisation Elpida as part of the OLD's COOL campaign.
For the exhibition, Elpida approached young Czech talents across disciplines whose future visions of old age were portrayed by today's seniors. The photographs, on which the creative duo of Bet Orten and Veronika Ruppert collaborated for the fourth time in a row, were exhibited in a public space - on the walls of Prague's Náplavka, from 15 June to 13 July 2018. The Elpida choir performed at the opening.
The exhibitions are part of the long-term campaign OLD's COOL, which is backed by the pro-senior organization Elpida. OLD's COOL presents inspiring personalities and their great life stories at the intersection of culture and social debate, with the aim of initiating dialogue across generations. Contemporary artists and seniors themselves are involved in the realisation of the projects. OLD's COOL includes exhibitions, theatre performances, debates, workshops and performances by the Elpida choir.
What will you be like when you are old?
▱ Janja Prokić, 34, a long-time award-winning jewellery designer for whom nature and femininity are key themes:
"I will live in my apartment in Vinohrady. I will always have gold rings on my hands, one on each hand. Even at the age of 5, my godmother explained to me that lipstick and painted nails make a woman well-groomed. I'll remain social, but still a little morose, and that probably won't leave me in my old age."
Janja Prokić's vision was portrayed by the model Anna Olšanská, who exercises and runs daily, works at the Lucerna Cinema, attends the University of the Third Age and is currently fascinated by figure drawing.
▱ Petr Vančura and Jan Cina, 33 and 30 years old, actors and life partners, who have recently been appearing together more and more often on stage and screen:
"One variant of my idea of old age is that I will continue to make myself smarter by wearing what I really want to wear. So maybe I'll be a kind of male prototype of Iris Apfel. I can see myself wearing a hat, and somehow a watch fits in there, although that goes against my other idea of not being concerned with time in old age. "Ezo" Grandpa Honza and I will take care of our friends' children's children and be at peace with our age."
The future alter egos were portrayed by models Emanuel Krása, a regular attendee of Elpida Centre courses, and Petr Osmík, an athlete and admirer of Italian fashion design.
▱ Jan Lukacevic, 26, a member of an Academy of Sciences team developing technology to investigate the existence of electrical discharges in dust storms on the surface of Mars:
"I will fly to my space lab much like I take the subway to it now. I will remain an adventurer so I can tell my grandchildren about the experience."
Alois Pihera, a regular visitor to the Elpida Centre course, explained Jan Lukacevic's vision.
▱ Vendula Chalánková, 37 years old, multimedia artist, whose work glosses everyday life with exaggeration in a very apt way. reality, thanks to which she regularly appears in reviews of the most outstanding domestic artists:
"In retirement I will live like Charles Bukowski or Marian Palla, in a house with a garden surrounded by pets. I hope to stay creative, writing, playing and discovering new things. Hopefully someone will want to visit me there."
The idea of Vendula Chalánková was portrayed by model Nataša Šmeralová, a singer of the Elpida choir.
▱ Ex Lovers, a pair of graphic designers who put the possibilities of solving graphic assignments into new angles:
"We will live together amidst an excruciatingly fluid, never-ending circulation of happiness and joy. Surrounded by predictable, omnipresent beauty. A universal basic income will cover all the costs of running the system.""
The role of future Ex Lovers was played by model Dagmar Melicharová, knitter of the Socks from Grandma project, and model Josef Rejzek, a regular attendee of the Elpida Centre courses and lecturer of the gardening course.
▱ Jan Vytiska, 33 years old, a painter who is known in the Czech art scene for his strongly expressive paintings:
"I'm going to paint somewhere in a lonely hut with a cat. Probably something like the French artist Balthus."
The future of Jan Vytiska was presented by the model Zdeněk Ekl, a regular visitor of the Elpida Centre course.
With the OLD's COOL campaign, Elpida is pointing out that ageing is not only linked to illness, physical hardship, poverty or economic dependence on the young. Most seniors do not need our pity, compassion or intensive care. They represent a much more diverse social group than that presented by the current media. Many seniors deserve our respect and attention for their wealth of experience and what they have accomplished in life.
The work of contemporary young photographer Bet Orten oscillates between fashion photography, documentary, portraiture and landscape. The photographs look like poetic paintings. Bet gained her experience mainly abroad, living in New York, where she worked as an assistant in the team of the famous American photographer Steven Klein. Currently she lives and works in Prague. The exhibition Postcards from the Future is her fourth project with Elpida as part of the OLD's COOL intergenerational campaign.
Veronika Ruppert
Journalist and presenter of two radio programmes on the Czech Radio's station for the young generation, Radio Wave. For one of her programmes, Modeschau, which has been broadcast since 2006, she systematically maps Czech fashion design, the industry and people's attitudes to clothing. He lives between Prague and Chicago. In addition to Czech Radio, he collaborates with print and online media such as Blue Paper, Respekt and Forbes.cz. Veronika is a member of the Czech Academy of Design and has served as fashion curator of the international festival designSUPERMARKET. She has been collaborating with Elpida for the fourth year now, in addition to intergenerational fashion shows and exhibitions.She also participates in the preparation and realization of fashion workshops and other social events.
Media contact
Lada Brůnová ~ lada.brunova@elpida.cz ~ +420 739 659 456
Elpida means hope in Greek. But it is also the name of an organization that helps seniors become a confident and respected part of society. In the spirit of the motto Old's Cool, Elpida is changing the way people look at old age - it runs the Elpida Educational and Cultural Centre for seniors fromPrague and the Senior Crisis Line, founded the brand Socks from Grandma, publishes the magazine VITAL, and organises the intergenerational Old's Cool festival. In short, she is trying to make Czech seniors lead a full & happy life.