Last year, I had the honour of giving the introduction to the exhibition „LACORDA02“ by Hubert Kostner at the tubla da nives cultural centre in Wolkenstein. A traditional speech wasn’t what was needed – instead, Hubert asked me to talk about the „rope“, since all the works in this exhibition are made from recycled climbing ropes.
What is there to say about a rope? That was my first thought.
But then I took time to reflect and realised: you could easily talk about it for ten minutes. The deeper I delved, the more this seemingly simple object revealed itself – full of symbolism, full of stories.
Braided fibres. So mundane – and yet: it bears, it holds.
A childhood toy. A safety tool on the mountain, in shipping. A symbol of trust, relationships, memories.
The rope is ancient. Humans have been using it for thousands of years – to build, to carry, to climb, to bind, to save.
It is one of those invisible things that has made civilisation possible in the first place.
In art as in life, a rope often stretches between opposites:
Between letting go and holding on, material and meaning.
Hubert Kostner’s exhibition is more than a collection of objects – it is a lifeline: an invitation to engage. To let yourself be connected. And perhaps also to let something go.
The beginning of our shared thread has certainly been tied, and I am very much looking forward to further collaboration with Hubert Kostner in the context of the Messner Mountain Museums.
(Magdalena Messner)