Prague On Fire!

Fire and water. Two elements that are constant conflict. Elements that are both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The core of the exhibition is the vertical sequence of the rooms in the old gothic water tower on the Vltava river bank. This space used to be a shaft but is now wrapped in a spiral staircase which is the entrance and the exit of the exhibition.

The space duality is enhanced by two stories of the elements – fire and water.  While fire occupies all the exhibition rooms in the core of the tower, the sound of running water cools down the staircase and the senses of the visitors.

This multi-genre exhibition presents the age long threat of fire for Prague. New media such as video mapping, animation, video art, and virtual reality give an all-embracing experience grounded in the combination of historical depictions from the City of Prague Museum collections and present artistic expression. It explains the role of water towers, provides information about destructive fires over many centuries, and presents the history of Prague fire fighters. An immersion installation brings visitors into the heart of the National Theatre ablaze, and those who will climb all the way to the top deck will be rewarded with a great view of the vicinity and will learn about the near and far future of Prague.

The exhibition is installed in the New Mill Water Tower which is open to the public for the first time ever. It is a technical structure from the second half of the 17th century which provided a water supply to the surroundings of the New Town of Prague. As evidenced by records, a wooden water tower was on the site of today’s tower in the 15th century; a sumptuous stone tower was built between 1602 and 1606 with a lookout area referred to as ‘Lusthaus’ on the top floor.

Art Direction

Martin Hejl

Concept

Martin Hejl, Karel Poupě

Direction

Martin Hejl, Zdeněk Durdil

Script

Lukáš Jiřička

Architecture and Design

Roháč Stratil Architektonický ateliér

Research

Andrea Šafaříková

Art and Illustration

Martin Hejl, Lenka Hejlová, Petr Janák, Long Phi Trieu, Milan Martinec, Mariya Usiková, Vojtěch Pecka

Animation

Petr Janák, Long Phi Trieu, Vojtěch Pecka

Motion Capture Actors

Elizaveta Sochneva, Vojtěch Pecka, Apolonia Sejková

Sound and Music

Matouš Godík

Voice Actress

Jenovéfa Boková

Collaboration

by Pink, superlative.works, Etna, REVYKO and others

Photography

Robert Houzar

Other projects

Memory of the Nation at Stalin
The Tap Tap in the Museum - Story of a Super Band