Alfred Kubin - 'The Other Side'

Knowing that Kubin's mother died at a young age, at the age of 19 he tried to commit suicide on her grave -and failed-, and that he had a nervous breakdown at the age of twenty, it's not difficult to understand why Kubin's work is relatively disturbing. He was even seduced by a pregneant woman at the age of 11. His images are described as 'dream like', however they're more nightmareish.

At Nottingham Contemporary their is currently a show of Kubin's drawings from his twenties, the most disturbing years of his life, where he had many hallucinations. They are black (mainly done in pen/etchings), made grainy by an air-spray technique that was new to the time. The feel of his work is reminiscent of Goya's etchings, especially with the grain effect. Many of his works feature sexual images, where male and female genitals are switched, or women are tied up. It's almost upsetting to see, and to know these are his thoughts is incredibly sad.

His work also takes some examining. His eye for menacing detail is obvious, as it takes a few minutes observation at some etchings to actually see what's going on. 'The Swamp' shows a naked women standing in a swamp, and in the background are noticable dark figures, looking almost fish like, towering over the unknowing women. It's mysterious and terrifying. Other pictures show dead bodies covering the floors, broken skeletons, and ripped dolls and bodies. In Kubin's early twenties, Austria was entering the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire leading to the WWI, and this feel of loss and war is evident in Kubin's early, violent work.

This exhibition was merely an introduction to Kubin for me, and whilst I was in the exhibition I couldn't help feeling I was looking at Munch or Goya with their nightmare feel, but if anything Kubin was more menacing.