American Leaks by Ivana Dostalova

''There are global situations when you have to have both of your children on the same continent.''

In March 2022, after the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and after almost two years of fighting the covid pandemic, alternately closed schools and borders, I, like others, did not know what might happen what I should expect from that global situation for my family, for my closest, for all, for humanity, I was worried about the Russian army moving to other European countries of the Eastern bloc, I was aware of the risk of the possible use of nuclear weapons from Russian side, I couldn’t believe that in the 21st century it was possible to get so close to war. I was sitting in my car and was asking myself ''What would we do if …?''

My older son had been studying in the United States since January 2022, and as a mother I felt a strong need to have both of my children on the same continent under these global contiditions. So I took my younger son and we left to the United States — began the journey for love, which was also a kind of mental leak from the information from media about the war, a journey where we could breathe, a kind of searching for peace in the self, a way of sending a silent peace message to all, with maternal tenderness and inner strength — mother’s road movie towards love, the journey on which we both have grown, the discourse on the inner conflict in us and in the society, but mainly and deeply the discourse on peace and love.

Those wandering from Key West to the north and the days flowing in a calm rhythm, yet in deep inner human discourse were like the soul leaks where we got a chance to forget the war conflict and to grow as human beings at the same time.

My inner discourse with the society was growing in my mind. Cemeteries have always been a message to me, so we were walking through those cemeteries as through places of the greatest hope that love is and is immortal, it was the promise of infinity and eternity, the promise that love is the strongest law of the universe.

And suddenly the predator seemed to be small, I was not afraid of him anymore, I started to see him with different eyes – as a part of natural laws which will find the journey to peace, like if the universe which we all are an integral negligible part of began to establish justice on the basis of the rules of humanity. The predator became in my mind a tiny grain of dust.

Ivana Dostalova

Czech photographer and scientist based in Prague, working, exhibiting, and with the works represented in the collections worldwide (e.g. Chicago, Paris, Berlin, New York, Atlanta, Michigan, Italy, Austria). A graduate of the PGCert Therapeutic Photography at Robert Gordon University in Scotland, previously obtained PhD in Neurobiology and Physiology from Charles University. She began working as a photographer in 2013, however she has been taking photos from childhood, she firstly openly talked about her life story and photographic journey for 2nd Therapeutic Photography Symposium in 2024. Ivana’s work includes both, mostly black and white works in variety of documentary series and projects, women’s portraits, personal diaries and other projects, as well as reflecting on social and psychosocial issues and today’s world through various artistic languages with the signs of symbolism and experimentation across multiple mediums. Ivana´s works often focuse on the areas of women´s empowerment and choices and dealing with trauma, she connects the field of photography with science to explore and search for the meaning of human existence and searching for identity. From the documentary series, among the best known is the series in between documentary and diary „My Prague“ (2015-2021), in which she captures the atmosphere of Prague and important events, or a series of photographs in which she focused on documenting the backstage of the Oncogynecology Center of the General University Hospital in Prague (2017) via the inner journey of the patient, which later became the book „The Stories Behind Hospital Walls“ (2018). In addition to these topics, since 2014 she has been photographing the backstage of children’s dance and ballet in the time-lapse series „First Steps“ and „Ballet Life“. Other documentaries include personal stories of burlesque performers (Behind the Burlesque, since 2021), behind the scenes of Czech theatres and more. Among the ongoing personal diaries, the series „Maternal Exile“ (2015-2020), „Diary from Quarantine“ (2020), „Life Traveler“ (from 2015) and „American Leaks“ as a maternal road movie towards love (2022) can be mentioned. Three main areas of the photographic study and research are: The self study, The other(s) study, and The world of a (day)dreamer. This part of Ivana´s work reflects the self and the interaction with the society and the other(s) and the critical searching for the self, depth, and genuineness in the times of instant Instagram happiness. As a part of the self study she uses the variety of self-portraits. Two-time nominee and winner of the second place in the Czech Press Photo competition (2018, 2019), in 2023 shortlisted in the Sony World Photography Awards competition. Recipient of Honorable Mention in International Photography Awards (IPA) 2023 Deeper Perspective Award for the photographic processing and contribution to the community of the project Swimming Women. In 2023, Ivana gave a TEDx Talk on the subject of photography and science. Founder of Voitopi Photography (2013), which had been focused on documentary, artistic and commercial photography. Voitopi has been from 2024 dedicated as one unique phototherapeutic project to women.

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expand_circle_rightThe Self Study

We two, me and my son, had a long discourse about what are the most valuable values in the consumer world upside down

And in that discourse with the world and society, connected to nature, we have started to discover freedom and peace

I started to strongly feel love coming, I started to feel her whisper in the branches of rustling trees, in the calm humble movement of nature, in a righteous reflection of the water depth, in natural symbols and inner patterns of humanity synchronicities

''When the power of love overcomes the love to power the world will know peace.'' - Jimy Hendricks