Jitka Hanzlová, born 1958 in the former CSSR/Czech Republic, escaped to Germany in 1982. Between 1987 and 1994 she studied visual communication at Essen University with focus on photography. She has been awarded several photography awards, including the BMW—Paris Photo Prize 2007. Venues for solo exhibitions of her work have included, among others, the Museum Folkwang, Essen, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Fundacion MAPFRE, Madrid, and the National Gallery of Edinburgh.