User:Inge Hoonte/A Voyage of Discovery

A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
Inge Hoonte, mixed media installation, 2012

Description

"A Voyage of Discovery" is a mixed media installation centered around the travelogue of my journey to the Island of Confirmation, the neighboring Island of Self-Doubt, and round the expansive realms of the Mind. Kybernetes, my childhood friend and excellent steersman of the HMS Project, guided me to several locations, where I further investigated the tensions between Confirmation and Self-Doubt. Along the way, we conversed with many scholars, authors, and other knowledgeable creatures about the self-corrective mechanisms of the Mind.

Excerpt from the travelogue:

"Before the accomplishment industry colonized the Island of Confirmation, it very much looked like the neighboring island Self-Doubt, which continues to live in a state of treacherous, pure nature. Confirmation sees so little rain that only dry humor cacti and dividivi trees can grow here. Over the years, the predominantly Northeastern wind has blown the ocean tide against the rocks, and carved out deep caves in the northern coastline. Known to the locals as the Coast of Clarity, the steep rocks are both gruff and impressive, and a popular destination for moments of contemplation."

At TENT, I will display the original, handmade travelogue. I am currently investigating ways on how to expand this for the gallery setting, as I am displaying the work on the wheelchair accessible ramp, or stairless staircase in the space in between gallery spaces.

There are a few options (see images below):

• Copies/xeroxes
• A guided tour of the book
• Performative reading at the Worm event
• Transform the space into a Curiosity Cabinet. This can be in the format of a display case.
• Use excerpts of the journal as a time-line or map, to connect the writing to physical remnants and events.

Media

Excerpts from the travelogue A Voyage of Discovery:

Tuesday evening, September 20

Closest to the shore line and the elevated wooden structure in the dunes that I have made my home the past few months, lies the Philosophical Starting Port. It is there that we will sail off the day after tomorrow.

Kybernetes, my childhood friend and fearless steersman who has accompanied me on most of the journeys in my mind, arrived to town at dusk last night. We made a small fire down at Pondering Beach, roasted some chestnuts, and gazed at the bright starry sky while we caught up on events and a bottle of strong liquor. Kyb, as most people know him, is an excellent navigator of these vast open waters. His father, and his father before him, stem from a long line of steersmen, who have handed down nautical tools, tales, and trades since, well, before time existed, really. Kyb keeps a detailed map where and which unfortunate souls were fooled by the alluring voices of the Sirens along the rocky edges of many an island in the Great Subconscious. He knows exactly where others have stranded, while trying to find short cuts in narrow alleyways between the infamous Steep Cliffs of Thought. Some poor bastards spent the rest of their mortal lives in a closed-off cave trying to find a way out, or entangled in the arms of an extravagant creature who dragged them down to the ocean floor to meet their offspring for an early supper.

I am aware of the risks, and know that I can count on Kybernetes' knowledge to steer me in the right direction.

Wednesday, September 21

Dawn Stowed away provisions and cleared the deck.

12noon Mr. Leerintveld from the Royal Library forwarded a confirming message from Adriaen Coenensz. He is expecting us in Scheveningen to show his latest specimen, the encyclopedic Visboeck that he has been working on the past four years. He just finished page 375, Le Loup Marin, or Sea Wolf, and added detail to Monstrom Leoninum, the Sea Lion. From recent conversations with several fishermen, Coenensz. acquired knowledge on various creatures that have been sighted near Faraway Bay. He has since added in-depth descriptions of Satyrus Marinus, also known as Pan Marinus, the fish tailed, scorpio clawed daemon of the seas. Kybernetes has not seen this volume yet, and has heard from several fishermen who heard from several fisherman who got it from yet other fishermen that it contains invaluable content for our voyage.

15:00 Received several jars of pickled vegetables from Ms. Kidder. Apart from the fact that the salt keeps them fresh, they're very healthy and help keep a balanced environment in the stomach, a much needed balance to calm my general nerves.

19:30 Met up with Eleanor Greenhalgh from Oxford, United Kingdom. She arrived here a month ago, and stayed at Under/Up the Stairs a few nights at the end of August. We played bingo at the Bar, where she learned some Dutch in the form of numbers as they were being called. Neither one of us won a prize, but some of the women from the old people's home across the street did. Eleanor will join us to Scheveningen tomorrow.

September 22

07:00 Fine weather

08:00 Employed getting ready to go out of harbor.

13:30 Reached Scheveningen.

September 27

11:15 Employed washing clothes.

Essay

See above description.
Link to PDF will follow soon.