31.01.26 – 01.03.26, Arnout De Cleene, Michiel De Cleene, Flying a Kite Through an Oblique Plane of Focus

In 1897 the young engineer Theodor Scheimpflug sets out for the Soča River valley in Northern Slovenia.

A stay in the Baumbach Hütte in the remote alpine village of Trenta.
The mountainous area must be mapped. The slopes are steep; the equipment is heavy. The Soča River – its hue azure and almost artificial – winds down through the shepherds’ settlement, with the Vršič Pass looming over it.
The needles and cones of the larches tremble gently when a soft breeze makes its way southwards.

Flying a Kite Through an Oblique Plane of Focus draws on the phototechnical principle named after Theodor Scheimpflug and his interest in kites. At the heart of the project lies an attempt to photograph a nineteenth-century kite flying through an oblique plane of focus in a clearing in the Julian Alps, near Trenta. The title doubles as a protocol through which the work delves into the political, poetic and historical ties between photography, landscape and cartography.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 31 January, from 14:00 to 18:00, with a presentation of the book of the same name (Roma Publications) by Arnout De Cleene & Michiel De Cleene at 15:00.

Flying a Kite Through an Oblique Plane of Focus was made possible with the support of KASK & Conservatorium, the school of arts of HOGENT and Howest. It is part of Arnout and Michiel De Cleene’s research project On Instructing Photography, financed by the HOGENT Arts Research Fund.