The pressure was much worse than if they had beaten me up
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Luboš Plný was born on 4 November 1961 in Česká Lípa into a family of railway workers. His father František and mother Olga, née Procházková, both worked for the railway. From childhood he showed artistic talent, but he was not accepted to art school in 1977 and became a railway electromechanic at the ČSD apprenticeship in Nymburk. Both classes and his stay at the boarding school were conducted under a strict regime, which deepened his sense of unfreedom. In 1980, he started working in Česká Lípa and at the same time he was preparing for graduation in a two-year course. The turning point in his life came during his compulsory military service in 1982, when he was hospitalised in a psychiatric ward with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. While in a psychiatric hospital, he returned to drawing, which became a form of self-therapy and a way of self-discovery. In the mid-1980s, he became involved in the circle of unofficial culture and the underground of Česká Lípa around Zdeněk Jelínek, a signatory of Charter 77. In 1987, during a period of mental and physical weakening, he signed a cooperation statement with State Security Service (StB) under pressure, which caused him long-term remorse and deterioration of his health. In 1988 he moved to Prague and developed original artistic work. His works are strongly autobiographical, combining drawing, text, collage and found objects with physical motifs, memory and the everyday. After 1989, he worked as a model at the Academy of Fine Arts (AVU), and after six years he applied for the non-existent title of “academic model”, which the rector granted him in 2000. The diary entries he kept for years and his anatomical drawings play a significant role in his work. His work is represented in prestigious collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and he has participated in many exhibitions, particularly in France.
