This is the work of the award-winning design group Beetroot from Thessaloniki, for the opera production of “The Penal Colony” by Philip Glass and Franz Kafka. The director of the opera needed a design team to bring Kafka’s words to life and on stage, so, the designers from Beetroot decided to create the machine described in the book, out of Kafka’s text itself.
Beetroot explains: “Over the years we often return and explore the concept of typography as a ‘living entity; through various projects, which has led to some really interesting results both conceptually and visually. Interpreting Kafka’s machine as a literary device, we tried to elevate type from a mere decorating collection of characters to an actual performer, one that has the ability to torture and, ultimately, to kill.”
(via)
