Exhibition
Presented by the Goethe-Institut &
the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Toronto
This double exhibition brings together a VR experience around Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and a re-imagining of The Castle by graphic artist Jaromír 99.
VRwandlung: A Virtual Metamorphosis
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” Thus begins the best-known novella of the 20th century, Die Verwandlung. “VRwandlung transfers Kafka’s work from the pages of a book to virtual reality. The protagonist is no longer Samsa, but you,” explains Mika Johnson, who created the VR experience around this man-to-beetle tale for the Goethe-Institut together with co-creator Ján Tompkins.
VRwandlung can be experienced with a VR set, sensor slippers and hand motion controllers on an individual first come, first served basis at the Goethe Space.
Join us for the free opening event with Ján Tompkins on September 4.
Find yourself in 1915, in Gregor Samsa’s room in the Old Town of Prague – and in a completely altered body.
&
Jaromír 99: The Castle
Jaromír Švejdík aka Jaromír 99’s acclaimed comic book adaptation of
The Castle is based on the art technique of
Scherenschnitt, where cut papers are bent in different ways, glued together and torn, here realized digitally. The artwork from the book embraces the Goethe Space and frames the audience experience of
VRwandlung. Jaromír’s stark and dramatic black-and-white design emphasizes the isolation, inaccessibility and ominous atmosphere Kafka so vividly created.
The protagonist of this Kafka classic, K., finds himself in a faraway, snow-covered village with a castle looming above. The inhabitants of the mysterious castle are the strict officials who run the village, and K. gets himself into a complex misunderstanding over their contradictory rules and regulations. In contrast to the original novel, Jaromír 99 set the events in his native Jeseník, K.'s face reflects Kafka’s image –at an age the author did not get to live.
“Artwork suggestive of woodcuts and expressionism in general and German artist Käthe Kollwitz in particular.” ―Booklist
Jaromír 99 is an artist, musician, and animator. He won the European Film Award for his animated film Alois Nebel. He lives in the Czech Republic and is also a member of the Kafka Band, whose soundtrack to The Castle will accompany this exhibition.
Open to the public for free Mon + Wed 11am-5pm and by request.
Part of the fall cluster Playing Kafka, including Kafka goes to the Movies, a media salon and an online game.
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