overview about the place This unique sculpture sited near the Faculty of Arts is devoted to the faculty’s student Jan Palach, commemorated for his self-immolation of 16 January 1969 in protest against the Soviet occupation. The sculptural pair called in the original ‘The House of the Suicide and The House of the Mother of the Suicide’ is a work of art by the American sculptor and architect of Czech origin, John Hejduk. The Son’s House, in a paler hue, represents Jan Palach. The Mother’s House is darker, as if corroded, representing Palach’s desperate mother. The installation with its symbolic flames is augmented by a plaque with the poem ‘The Funeral of Jan Palach’ by American writer David Shapiro. more about the place The memorial was officially unveiled on the anniversary of Jan Palach’s self-immolation, on Saturday, January 16, 2016. Hejduk was influenced in creating the sculptures by the poem “The Funeral of Jan Palach” by American writer David Shapiro. Shapiro wrote it in 1969 based on a newspaper report about Palach’s act. The work House of the Son, House of the Mother was first realized between 1986 and 1990 by a group of students at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, led by James Williamson. The structures were installed in the institute’s lobby. John Hejduk dedicated the second version of the work to Václav Havel and the Czechoslovak people in 1991. The structure was built of wood. James Williamson and curator and book designer Kim Shkapich oversaw the installation. The structures were removed from the Royal Garden of Prague Castle after 2000 due to their deteriorating condition. The work on display is thus the third installation. The placement of the sculptures is the work of the MCA studio, led by architects Miroslav Cikán and Pavla Melková, in collaboration with architect Václav Králíček. The concept is based on the idea of situating the works on Alšovo Embankment, which was part of architect Václav Králíček’s study for Palach Square. In 2014, the Prague City Gallery was commissioned to create the nearly seven-meter-tall memorial. The symbolism of the memorial is further enhanced by the fact that the axes of both sculptures intersect at Jan Palach’s death mask, which is located on the wall of the nearby Faculty of Arts building.