Máj/My

The work Máj/My is a series of photographs taken by Stephanie Kiwitt in Prague between 2015 and 2018. The title Máj/My refers to a Prague department store which was called ‘Máj’ – Czech for ‘May’ – from 1975 until the collapse of the communist regime. In 2009, it was run by the British supermarket chain Tesco under the name ‘My’ – English for ‘mine’. Both words are pronounced identically. The old name thus echoes in the new one. The spring month and the socialist month of labour merge inaudibly into the neoliberal usage of ‘My’. One could, however, also pronounce the word ‘My’ in Czech. Then it would sound quite different and have a different meaning, namely: we. But nobody pronounces the name that way. Stephanie Kiwitt has taken the department store’s marketing strategy as an opportunity to reflect on changes in the city and society.