It is still helpful (if not sorely needed!) that Kleist brings along his sketches of the countries he has travelled to for workshops, exhibitions and research, and makes them public to the extent possible. Half the world is invisible! His travel sketches and watercolours from Algeria: 10 miniatures, almost all in colour. Sandy brown. Lots of vivid blue Alleyways full of steps and rows or networks of small balconies with colourful curtains billowing in the wind.
His most successful works include ‘Cash – I See a Darkness’, ‘The Boxer’ and ‘An Olympic Dream’. He has won the Max & Moritz Prize for the best German-language comic book artist and the German Children’s Literature Award for non-fiction.
Algeria is the largest country in Africa. The capital Algiers is located in the province of the same name in the western part of a Mediterranean bay and on the mountain slopes of the Tellatlas. Le Casbah is the smallest district. It was built from ancient ruins and on a hill. The Casbah is a labyrinth of narrow streets and picturesque houses. If you lose your orientation here, you just have to go down to the sea.
Stefan Mesch on "Travel Sketches Algerien"
Yet regardless of how closely Kleist looks, maximum proximity, authenticity, documentation are not his concern."
