Erik Kriek & guests

We are pleased to present a special evening programme on Thursday 24 May dedicated to comic artist and illustrator Erik Kriek, on the occasion of his newly published book The Unspeakable and Other Stories by H.P. Lovecraft. With contributions by Wim Brands, Joris Lehr and The Mechanical Musical Marvels.

Erik Kriek (Amsterdam, 1966) is best known for his series Gutsman. He works as an illustrator for, among others, the VPRO Gids (for which he created a cover illustration for Crossing Border 2008), De Volkskrant, Vrij Nederland and Schokkend Nieuws. He also designed cover illustrations for Dutch editions of Tolkien and the paperback editions of Harry Potter. In 2008 he received the Stripschap Prize for his entire body of work.

During his lifetime, the work of American fantasy and horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890–1937) was considered pulp fiction; later he became a cult author and a key figure in the development of horror and science fiction. His grotesque stories revolve around human fear of unknown forces and entities, foreshadowing the collapse of the familiar order. Erik Kriek has been fascinated since his teenage years by the macabre in general and Lovecraft’s stories in particular. With The Unspeakable and Other Stories, a long-held wish comes true: in this collection he brings Lovecraft’s fascinating world together with his own outstanding black-and-white artwork in a unique way.

Through projections of his work, Kriek will be interviewed during BorderKitchen by Wim Brands (VPRO). Actor Joris Lehr (TG Dolle Maandag) will perform a fragment from his Lovecraft monologue “Shadows over Innsmouth”, and The Mechanical Musical Marvels will transport us into early twentieth-century musical atmospheres with original 78 rpm records.

Location: Weimarstraat 36, The Hague
Start time: 8:00 PM
Tickets: €5
Reservations: 070-3462355 or info@BorderKitchen.nl

Erik Kriek adapted six of his horror stories into a graphic novel. And he did so in a terrifyingly effective way. Gruesome monsters, deranged madmen, emaciated skeletons and extraterrestrial beings are brought to life page after page and continue to haunt you long after you’ve finished the book. – Young Adult Books