Lod' III/Boat III 1990

Miroslav Houra created this print, Lod' III/Boat III, using strong contrasts between black and white to depict the recurring symbol of the boat. The vessel, abstracted yet present, carries within it a rich tapestry of meanings. Since antiquity, the boat has appeared as a vessel of souls, ferrying the dead to the afterlife, such as in Ancient Egyptian funerary rites. But here, the boat seems to transcend its funereal role. Note the figures on board, reaching for a suspended sphere, a symbol of hope or perhaps enlightenment. This gesture echoes across time, reminding us of the outstretched hands in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, each reaching for divine knowledge. This boat, then, becomes not just a passage to death, but also a journey of the living, striving for understanding, reflecting our collective unconscious desire for meaning. The image evokes a powerful tension, a visual embodiment of mankind's quest, forever sailing between the known and the unknown.