Jiří Hudeček

"I went there secretly because while my mother was quite supportive of me painting, unfortunately my father was not. I went in there secretly and passed the tests. They admitted me and I went to the school. My mother supported me with a little cash, but when my father found out he chased me around the cottage yelling he would kill me. Well, he basically kicked me out of home. So then I lived in a private accommodation with a sculptor friend. And since we didn't have much money and were trained in our craft, we did these weekend jobs as a side hustle."

"We were crammed in the cellar for a week and it was a big ordeal for us kids in that it was so small. Grandpa used to store apples in there, and the scent of apples has stuck with me since. Then there was a big thump on the door. We were afraid to open. 'Don't be scared, we're free now.' Some guys were riding past in basket carriages with horses, I think they were Romanians. They took me and my brother for a ride, the carriage was mounted with a machine gun, and we rode with them for a little bit. Then we regretted it because we had to walk up the hill back home afterwards. We didn't understand them, they were dirty, incredibly greasy, and, well, they didn't smell nice."