Alena KOTZMANNOVÁ (b. 1974) is a visual artist and photographer living and working in Prague. In 2014, she received a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Education of Charles University (Visual Arts Department). In 1998, she graduated from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, from the Studio of Conceptual and Intermedia Works and the Studio of Photography. In her predominantly black and white photographs, Kotzmannová deals with the possibilities and paradoxes of the medium. She evokes an atmosphere imbued with theatrical decorative features and horror elements, often bordering a fictitious visuality, which is achieved primarily through a refined play of light and shadow. She reveals the thin line between the real and the unreal. She often hints at a story that has taken place but can no longer be retraced. It is gone. Only the expression of the photograph offers some clue. Her photographs are also distinguished by refinement, elegance and a sensitivity in depicting reality.