“Gracchus, the hunter“ was inspired by Franz Kafka’s narration of the same title. In the story a hunter who fell into death got lost on his way to afterlife and thus is doomed to live as a spectre between this life and the hereafter. Schäfer’s pictures depict the hunter’s struggles but also his melting into nature and time and space. Central for this series is the seemingly surreal blur caused by the long exposure that creates a peculiar and pensive mood.

The series “l’ecriture“, which consists of seven b/w-pinhole photographies describes the process of artistic work as both, a delicate and tough procedure. The artist seems to disappear into the pitch-black background, while his tools, a quill and a book, remain lucid and distinct. Whenever he turns a page of the book, there is another empty space that demands to be filled.