Within the framework of the Weeks of the German Language, the Goethe Institut Cyprus will host the poster exhibition Komplett Kafka this November and December. The showcase is held in collaboration with artist Nicolas Mahler and the Literaturhaus Stuttgart to mark Franz Kafka’s anniversary year 2024.
Opening on Thursday and running for a month, the exhibition is a glimpse into the life and work of Kafka as seen by the Vienna-based comic artist and illustrator.
“Franz Kafka not only wrote prose, he was also passionate about drawing: ‘You know, I was once a great draughtsman’, he wrote half ironically, half proudly to his long-term fiancée Felice Bauer in 1913 about his artistic ambitions,” organisers say.
“Drawing had once given him ‘more satisfaction than anything else’. So, what could be more fitting than to honour him on his centenary with a comic biography? And by Nicolas Mahler, who has a similarly minimalist drawing style?”
The artist has chosen to pay tribute to Kafka’s work and life amusingly and poignantly, touching on big, bold questions such as Why did Kafka’s plan to write a series of cheap travel guides fail? Who wrote the sequel to one of his most important works, The Metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa? And what was the story behind the ‘white slave’?
To explore answers to these questions and look at Kafka’s life in a new light, visit the exhibition now open in Nicosia.
Komplett Kafka
Poster exhibition by artist Nicolas Mahler to mark Franz Kafka’s 100th death anniversary. November 7-December 7. Goethe Institut Cyprus, Nicosia.Wednesday – Friday: 4pm-7pm. Saturday: 11am-2pm. https://www.goethe.de/
