Jan Palach Memorial - The House of Suicide and the House of the Mother of Suicide

This sculpture commemorates the self-immolation of Jan Palach on 16 January 1969 in protest against the Soviet invasion and occupation. It is sited beside the near the The pair of sculptures are called ‘The House of the Suicide and The House of the Mother of the Suicide’. They were created by John Hejduk. The Son’s House, in a paler representing Jan Palach. The Mother’s House is darker representing Palach’s mother. Each ‘house’ has spikes representing flames emerging from the top. A plaque nearby has a poem inscribed called ‘The Funeral of Jan Palach’ by David Shapiro.

A memorial dedicated to a boy who committed suicide due to the soviet occupation. He is represented as the "silver" sculpture and his mother is represented as the "brown/dark" sculpture (like the fruit becomes ripe, she is also represented that way).

Both statues are a memorial to Jan Palach. He self immolated in 1969 in protest of the Soviet invasion. The silver coloured one represents Jan Palach. The rusty coloured one represents his mother. Between both on the ground is a poem, written by David Shapiro. The structures were manufactured by the Czech company Kruntorád. The inauguration took place in January 2016. They draw inspiration from Cézanne’s La maison du pendu.

There are three parts to the project by American Architect and Sculptor John Hejduk, two houses and a poem. It’s full title is often reported as “The House of the Suicide and the House of the Mother of the Suicide”. It’s a strange title which you will question after you have read Jan Palach, Icon. In August 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the liberalising reforms of Alexander Dubček's government during what was known as the Prague Spring. Prague-born Palach decided to sacrifice himself in protest of the invasion and set himself on fire, in Wenceslas Square, on 16 January 1969. According to a letter he sent to several public figures, an entire clandestine resistance organization had been established with the purpose of practising self-immolation until their demands were met; however, it seems that such a group never existed.[1] The demands declared in the letter were the abolition of censorship and a halt to the distribution of Zprávy, the official newspaper of the Soviet occupying forces. In addition, the letter called for the Czech and the Slovak peoples to go on a general strike in support of these demands.[2] An earlier draft of the letter that Palach wrote also called for the resignation of a number of pro-Soviet politicians,[3] but that demand did not make it into the final version, which included the remark that "our demands are not extreme; on the contrary". Palach died from his burns three days after his act, in the hospital. On his deathbed, he was visited by a female acquaintance from his college and by a student leader, to whom he had addressed one of the copies of his letter. It was reported that he had pleaded for others not to do what he had done but instead to continue the struggle by other means, although it has been doubted whether he really said that.[4]

Interesting sculpture by John Hejduk in memory of Jan Palach. Read about it and you will understand the message.

I came across this memorial by accident. I had no idea what it was, or what it represented. Just a few metres away I took a picture of a bronze memorial plaque of Jan Palach on the side of a building.

Now I know what this is, and what it represents, I could kick myself for not taking a photo of them.

I like the way one monument is in in Stainless Steel, and the other rusty. Art is always a personal interpretation in the eye of the beholder, but l think this works well. A monument to a Czech hero.

The House of the Suicide and the House of the Mother of the Suicide is a pair of sculptures in memorial to Jan Palach. The memorial features two cube like structures crowned with some devastating looking steel spikes.

I admire the sentiments, but this is way to abstract. Plus one for the memorial to a Czech hero though.