Illustrations for The Trial by F. Kafka 1975

Oleksandr Aksinin made this illustration for Kafka’s “The Trial,” using pencil on paper. Aksinin lived and worked in Soviet-era Ukraine, where artistic expression was often a subtle act of resistance against oppressive regimes. The stark, geometrical construction with its obscured, shaded corners evokes a sense of unease and confinement, emblematic of Josef K.’s bewildering experience within an incomprehensible legal system. The disorienting perspective and obscured vanishing point speaks to a sense of hopelessness. Aksinin transforms Kafka’s narrative into a visual language of paranoia, reflecting his own precarious position as an artist living under Soviet censorship. Aksinin was deeply engaged with exploring the boundaries between the conscious and unconscious, and he once said that, “every drawing is a step into the unknown”. This piece serves as a reminder of the intricate ways in which personal and political anxieties can be channeled through art, creating a powerful dialogue between the creator, the artwork, and the socio-political landscape.