Exiles (French: Exils) by Josef Koudelka, made between 1971 and 1987 across various European countries, explores the spiritual and physical condition of exile following the photographer's forced departure from Czechoslovakia. Shot in black and white during his years of stateless wandering, the series reflects Koudelka's nomadic life after the 1968 Soviet invasion of Prague.
Against the backdrop of Cold War tensions and political repression, Exiles emerged as a response to personal upheaval and broader questions of belonging. Koudelka, already recognized for his anonymous photographs of the Prague invasion, received asylum in Britain in 1970 and remained without a nationality until 1987. The project crystallizes a pivotal moment in his career: his transition from national dissident to a stateless observer of Europe's shifting margins.
Exiles interrogates themes of solitude, alienation, and freedom. Koudelka presents exile not simply as a geographic displacement but as an existential state. His subjects—solitary figures, neglected urban spaces, and deserted landscapes—embody estrangement and loss, while also hinting at endurance and quiet resistance. Building on motifs from his earlier Gypsies series, Koudelka draws parallels between his own rootlessness and the lives of marginalized communities.
The visual language of Exiles is austere and meticulously composed. Shot exclusively in black and white, the photographs are characterized by high contrast, deep shadows, and careful structuring of space. Koudelka often isolates his subjects within the frame, emphasizing emptiness and disconnection. Diagonal lines, figure-to-ground compositions, and a rigorous attention to balance create a graphic intensity that echoes his background in engineering.
Exiles received Photographic Book of the Year from the Maine Photographic Workshops and an ICP Publication Award (1989). Issued alongside exhibitions organized by the Centre National de la Photographie with the International Center of Photography and toured in Europe and the United States, the work later appeared at institutions including MoMA, the Hayward Gallery, and Tate Modern, sustaining visibility and debate.
