Kongo 2026 – Artists on a Mission to Save Elephants

Veronika Souralová is a Czech photographer, curator and prominent figure on the Czech photography scene. Her artistic practice has long focused primarily on macro photography of nature and insect life, combining documentary observation with a distinctive visual approach. She is the director of Czech Photo, heads the prestigious Czech Press Photo competition and initiated the establishment of the Czech Photo Centre in Prague.

This unique artist’s book was created during an artistic expedition to the Congo in 2026. It combines Veronika Souralová’s diary entries, documenting the course of the journey and offering her personal perspective on the individual participants, with photographs of the Congolese landscape, rainforest and the group’s travels. The journal is also unique for the drawings and paintings created directly in its pages by the individual artists. By acquiring it at auction, you will therefore also obtain original works by František Skála, Jan Kaláb, Jan Gemrot, Michal Škapa, Jan Poupě, Denisa Krausová and Filip Kůrka, as well as a photographic print by Alžběta Jungrová.
Kongo 2026 – Artists on a Mission to Save Elephants is therefore not merely a photobook documenting an African expedition, but above all a collaborative artistic diary in which a single journey unfolds through nine distinctive perspectives on Africa, its natural environment and the members of the expedition themselves.

100% of the hammer price will be donated to support the Save-Elephants project, a non-profit initiative that has brought together nine leading Czech artists. During their second expedition to the Congo, which took place in February of this year, the artists drew inspiration for a unique collection comprising paintings, photographs, and an original photographic journal complemented by drawings created by members of the expedition.