Spain
- Artist: Josef Koudelka
- Date: 1971
- Medium: Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper
- Dimensions: image: 361 × 538 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "Spain" by Josef Koudelka, a 1971 gelatin silver print that captures a lively festival in Guadix, Andalusia. The black‑and‑white image shows suited men releasing fireworks into the night sky, a moment that feels both celebratory and fleeting. Koudelka, a Czech photographer who fled his homeland in 1970, produced this work as part of his Exiles series, documenting his restless travels across Europe. He never stayed longer than three months in any one place, and that sense of constant movement comes through in this photograph’s dynamic composition. The image balances the quiet geometry of the suited figures with the chaotic burst of color‑less sparks, a visual metaphor for the margins he sought to explore. The Exiles series often focused on abandoned landscapes, solitary moments, and people on the periphery of society – themes that resonate strongly in "Spain".
See it in person
Spain is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
