Gypsies

Fifty years after first publication, one of the most important photobooks of the 20th century returns, offering an intimate glimpse into the daily lives of the Roma community in the 1960s and 1970s. Josef Koudelka’s Gypsies remains one of his best-known series, offering a unique survey of the lives of the Roma community across then-Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, France and Spain between 1962 and 1971. Originally published in 1975, five years after Koudelka left Prague following the Soviet Union’s invasion, Gypsies is a classic of documentary photography.

Now returning in its original, hardback format, this timely new edition is as much a pioneering photoessay as it is a lesson in book making. Carrying only his equipment, a rucksack and sleeping bag, Koudelka journeyed between different village and encampments. His nomadic existence, defined by a sense of displacement, allowed him to gain the trust of the Roma communities he encountered.

The resulting series eschews the often-derogatory depictions of the community to instead provide unparalleled insight into their world, shining a light on their traditions, struggles and routines. The Roma in these images were photographed mostly in a state that no longer exists, ruled by a regime that dissolved in 1989. With such few historical depictions, Gypsies is not only a testament to the beauty of photography, but a vital historical document of a community often relegated to the shadows.

Arriving at a moment of contemporary unrest and social marginalization, Gypsies is a poignant reminder of the often bleak reality of the disenfranchised, and the power of photography to bear witness.

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