and microfix, emphasizing them by perforation and embossing. Anna Zemánková was constantly experimenting with new materials and trying different methods: paper and textile collage, crochet applications, pasting beads and sequins... The techniques she had previously used in decorating her home and clothes became an integral part of her work. Her initial fascination for faithful depiction of floral motifs was soon replaced by a passion for ever new variations and ideas, and she soon evolved into completely original abstract forms and free improvisation. Her mature aesthetic evokes hidden and unspoken depths beneath a refined and subtle surface. Often these are hybrids of plant and animal forms. The vibrant colours and ornamental articulations of this new paradisiacal flora and fauna, which has its own atectonic laws of growth, correspond to the changing configurations of the hidden games of the imagination and the constant transformations of the flow of psychic events. The initial dramatic period of her work is characterized by the composition of two or more disparate forms. Dominant and masculine flowers are in an aggressive position against their feminine counterparts, cloudy hues contrasting with bright pastel colours. Thus, they are a personification of the artist's personal mythology and a means of catharsis of her inner conflicts. Typical is the serial repetition of motifs, which are multiplied to the finest detail in microstructures, simulating the impression of growth or trembling. Through the diagonal composition and the perspective reduction of the central motif, the painter brings a radical dynamism to the painting. Zemánková avidly read science fiction literature about extraterrestrial civilizations. The fantastic creatures or rocket-like formations in her drawings may have their origins in this naive fascination with the mystery of the universe. After 1963, the rhythm of her paintings calmed down and compact shapes that recall underwater fauna became predominant. Her imagery was dominated by the water element – fleshy shapes flourish and float through space as if in a state of weightlessness. The artist herself referred to her work as a love experience and her repressed erotic energy manifested itself in the form of womb-like formations or in the form of intersections of plump and phallic shapes. The process in which the artist's consciousness turned inward and the distinction between the external and the internal lost its meaning can be described as "physical introspection." Motherhood, which played a key role in Anna Zemánek's emotional life, is reflected in her work