Ultima Thule
In search of becoming
An exhibition by Andreas Kindler von Knobloch
Steambox 11th - 20th May 2012
School St, Dublin 8, Across from the Guinness brewery.
Opening reception, Thursday 10th May, 6pm
Inspired by the writings of Rene Daumal and the final project of the Dutch conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader; the 2011 – 2012 IMOCA graduate resident Andreas Kindler von Knobloch undertakes a series of expeditions into the unknown waters of Dublin bay.
These experiments form part of Kindler on Knobloch’s broader research into human attempts at capturing and understanding the aesthetics of sublime experience.
In the novel Mount Analogue, Rene Daumal sets sail in the yacht Impossible to search for a holy mountain. At the summit of this mountain heaven and earth are said to meet and the doorway to the invisible is made visible. Daumal's symbolic mountain represents a way to truth that ‘cannot not exist,’ and his classic allegory of man's search for himself embraces the certainty that one can know and conquer one's own reality.
The late Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader undertook a similar journey not knowing it would be his last performance. Titled In Search of the Miraculous this attempt at a transatlantic voyage proved fatal for the artist. The title for his work is lifted from P.D. Ouspensky’s book of the same name, based on the early teachings of Gurdjieff - the story of another quest for spiritual understanding and self-knowledge that ended with the realisation that the answer had been at hand from the start.
With an eye to the apparent paradox Kindler von Knobloch sets out on his Mirror dinghy Sophy. The title Ultima Thule is a term from medieval geography which denotes any distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world." It is at once a reference to the work of Bas Jan Ader and the story of Mount Analogue. By contrast, in his work Kindler von Knobloch is not attempting the impossible or seeking out the physical boundaries of this world. Instead with the help of photographer, Dorje de Burgh, this work is an exploration of the desire for that journey, through a complete immersion in the aesthetics of this romantic experience.
