May 17, 2026

The Second Fire: Love Letter to Baikal

Exhibitions

The Prague City Gallery presents the exhibition The Second Fire: Love Letter to Baikal, by Gabriela Bulišová and Mark Isaac, at GHMP House of Photography. The exhibition will be open to the public from 19 May to 16 August, 2026.

According to a Buryat legend, Lake Baikal came into being after people quenched a fire by saying “Bai, gal!” – “Fire, stop!” The exhibition updates this motif: today, the lake is once again under threat, this time from climate change and rising temperatures. Lake Baikal is the oldest, richest in biodiversity and deepest lake in the world, containing more than 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves. Through a combination of photography, multi-channel video and sound installations, the artists explore its current state and transformations in the context of environmental change. However, the project does not focus exclusively on the lake’s decline, but also highlights its exceptional beauty, power and mystery. “We hope that in this way we will inspire people to protect the lake – and to fight pollution and climate change everywhere in the world,” said Bulišová and Isaac.

The exhibition is based on the artists’ long-term research, which combines an artistic approach with scientific data. The installation includes video projections documenting the lake’s various forms, as well as sound compositions based on climatic and biological data. Lake Baikal currently faces a number of environmental problems. The coastal areas are burdened by the consequences of mass tourism, illegal construction and inadequate wastewater treatment. These factors contribute to the spread of toxic algae and the decline of organisms that are crucial for water quality.

“The Exhibition The Second Fire: Love Letter to Baikal reminds us that nature conservation and climate change can no longer be treated as marginal issues but must be counted among the key challenges of our time. At GHMP, we have consistently presented projects that respond to pressing social and environmental issues and seek new ways to bring them into the public discourse. Gabriela Bulišová and Mark Isaac demonstrate that through artistic research and a most delicately constructed installation, it is possible to draw attention to the real-world changes in a powerful yet unpretentious way, and to show that we are facing the same problems in many places in the Czech Republic and Central Europe,” says Helena Musilová, chief curator of GHMP.

The situation is further affected by climate change, which leads to rising water temperatures and a shortening of the ice cover period. These changes affect the entire lake ecosystem, including endemic plant and animal species. One of the main elements of the exhibition is the three-channel video installation Dawn – Day – Dusk, which explores the lake across time – from its mythological origins through the present to possible future developments. Another part of the project consists of the sound compositions Voices of the Amphipods, which translate scientific data on the impacts of temperature changes on small amphipods into musical form. The sound component thus expands the visual part of the installation with another way of interpreting environmental processes. As the project’s authors state, their goal is “to connect scientific knowledge with visual experience and make complex environmental topics accessible to a wider audience”.

Project The Second Fire (Lake Baikal, Siberia) © Gabriela Bulišová and Mark Isaac

Photos of artworks in print quality are available here

Photos of the exhibition in print quality are available here

Dates: 19 May – 16 Aug 2026
Authors: Gabriela Bulišová, Mark Isaac
Curator for GHMP: Karla Dvořák Hlaváčková
Architectural Design: Pavel Mrkus
Graphic Design: Pavel Tichoň

GHMP Dům fotografie, Revoluční 1006/5, 110 00 Prague 1 – Old Town

Open
Tue–Sun 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
Thu 10 a.m.– 8 p.m.

Entrance fee: CZK 150 full (adults) / CZK 60 discounted (students and seniors)

The building has wheelchair access.

For up-to-date information on the exhibition, accompanying programmes, guided tours and educational activities, please visit our web.

Tickets are available through the GoOut network and at GHMP box offices.

The Second Fire: Love Letter to Baikal

Attachments

TZ_GHMP_The Second Fire_ENG.docx