EVEREST
2023-25
ELEVEN HAND-WOUND TWINE BALLS – ONE FOR EACH OF THE PEAKS CONSIDERED PART OF THE SEVEN SUMMIT VARIATIONS WITH A COMBINED LENGTH ALMOST 60 KM.
EVEREST [I OF XI] – 8,848.86 M (29,031.7 FT)
ACONCAGUA [II OF XI] – 6,960.8 M (22,837 FT)
DENALI [III OF XI] – 6,190 M (20,310 FT)
KILIMANJAro [IV of XI] – 5,895 M (19,341 FT)
ELBRUS [V OF XI] – 5,642 M (18,510 FT)
VINSON [VI OF XI] – 4,892 M (16,050 FT)
PUNCAK JAYA [VII OF XI] – 4,884 M (16,024 FT)
MONT BLANC [VIII OF XI] – 4,805.59 M (15,766.4 FT)
ENDUWA KOMBUGLU/KOREL KHU/OWO OMNAH-KREA/MOUNT WILHELM [IX OF XI] – 4,509 M (14,793 FT)
MAUNA KEA [X OF XI] – 4,207.3 M (13,803 FT)
KUNAMA NAMADGI/KOSCIUSZKO [XI OF XI] – 2,228 M (7,310 FT)
The Seven Summits is a contemplation on the (largely male dominated) tradition of global conquest commonly known within the mountaineering community as ‘making The Seven Summits’
‘The Seven Summits’ are not the seven highest mountains in the world, nor are they the sevenmost difficult to climb –– rather they represent the seven tallest peaks of each continent – a literal survey of the world that has been completed by more than 500 mountaineers since the term was coined in 1985. The classification of what constitutes ‘The Seven Summits’ has still remained contested throughout its 40-year history, with at least seven competing versions –– with each metric defined by the mountaineer who first completed them. Drawn to both the accomplishment and the hubris of this endeavour (along with its inability to define itself) this work comprises eleven performative actions/ artefacts that encompass every iteration.
Questioning our perception of scale (and the act of scaling great heights) The Seven Summits compresses the epic into the ordinary, shifting the measure of distance, time and endurance-based labour toward the act of absurdity.