To have a bird

The group exhibition “To have a bird” combines elements of comics, animation, live performance, sound art, and 3D installation, going far beyond what we usually expect from illustration. Inspired by their Erasmus semester in Hamburg, the exhibition plays with the seven artists’ memories of that time: they reflect on their experiences in the city and imagine what it might be like to return one day. The works stand out for their offbeat, surreal style—and expand our understanding of what a comic can be.

The seven artists of the exhibition “To have a bird” live in London and are all graduates of the Illustration Animation course at Kingston University. During their Erasmus stays between 2023 and 2025, they studied under comic artist Jul Gordon at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.