A Tribute to Věra Čáslavská: Giant Statue by David Černý in Paris

The monumental, almost ten metres high, dynamic statue of the legendary Czech athlete Věra Čáslavská will be an unmissable symbol for all visitors to the Czech House in La Villette Park in Paris.

The tribute to Věra Čáslavská will be on display from 26 July, when the Czech House in Paris opens.

It is a symbol of the gymnast’s movements and a reference to the sporting achievements and life attitudes of Věra Čáslavská, a seven-time Olympic champion.

“Věra was an amazing person. She was a great athlete, but most of all a wonderful person, with whom it was a pleasure to spend time, as she transferred her enthusiasm to everyone. She loved sport and cheered on all the athletes. That is why we want to remember her again – to our fans and to the whole world,” said Jiří Kejval, President of the Czech Olympic Committee.

The statue is made of stainless steel, weighs 7.5 tonnes and reaches a height of over 9 metres.

The individual parts travelled from the Czech Republic to Paris in three trucks and were built by a team of technicians on site for a week.

 

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“We have been working for a very long time on a rather complex movement technology,” comments David Černý on his work, which is set in motion by a system of electric drives and a complicated program.

“The movement of the sculpture uses the principle of the gimbal, where the central part has the freedom to rotate in all three axes of the Cartesian system. When the sculpture is set in motion, it will be impressive. It’s a beautiful mechanical game, in its own way as graceful as the figures Vera was able to conjure with her body,” described Černý.

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