From Nozlee Samadzadeh’s interview with Evžen Sobek for The Morning News:
TMN: Where were these photos taken? Who are the subjects?
Evžen Sobek: The photos were taken at the Nové Mlýny reservoir, in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic close to the Austrian border. The people in the photographs are vacationers—usually they have been coming every weekend some of them for a long period of time—for decades. At this camping site you can find people from various parts of Europe—Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands.
TMN: How did you decide to photograph this community?
Evžen Sobek: Actually I was never attracted by that place—even though it’s situated only 20 minutes from where I live. Then, once I got there by the accident, I was immediately fascinated by the bizarre lifestyle I discovered there. I was asking myself—What is it, what makes people come to that artificial environment? Why do they set up their second homes with bizarre architectural artifacts in this strange environment, even though the magic of the place dissolves after several visits? What makes the members of the community, or holidaymakers, their husbands and wives, children, relatives, and friends voluntarily spend weekends for years in this strange emptiness? Is it the longing for meditation in the country? Is it the necessity of establishing informal contacts in a romantic environment? Maybe here they can quench their desire for life in a community which the city can no longer offer.