Project Heracles at The Gopher Hole, London

Outside Gopher Hole gallery, home to the current Project Heracles exhibition. A street shop with glass windows and a wooden door.
Outside Gopher Hole gallery, home to the current Project Heracles exhibition.
(Image credit: TBC)
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The Strait of Gibraltar, a stretch of water that lies between Spain and Morocco may only be a mere 14 km, but geopolitically speaking it is more akin to a deep abyss, separating as it does two major continents.

Fuelled by the idea of creating an imaginary infrastructure spanning the Strait and thus a deeper connection between Europe and Africa, 'Project Heracles' is the culmulative of a call to arms where participants were asked to respond with suggestions on a postcard.

From Bjarke Ingels's proposal of the 'Afro-Euro / Euro-Afro' currency, and

Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt’s tongue-in-cheek extension of London Underground's Northern Line, to a series of huge luminous buoys and an array of futuristic bridge constructions, hundreds of suggestions came in from around the world. Each and every one has been subsequently printed and displayed in the gallery space in editions of 100. Plus, in a move away from the normal exhibition template, each of the 25,000 postcards, currently on display at The Gopher Hole, is free for visitors to take away.

In addition to Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesage - the Belgian philosophers who started Project Heracles with their email conversation about a possible Eurafrican connection published in Domus magazine, a stellar group of thinkers, writers and curators associated with the cause were also invited to examine the postcards and each present a selection of six of the most provocative and creative proposals.

Many postcard stands in a room with a wooden floor.

Fuelled by the idea of creating a connection between Europe and Africa across the strait, participants were asked to respond with their suggestions on a postcard...

(Image credit: TBC)

Postcard holders mounted on a wall.

... all of which are currently on display in editions of 100 in the gallery space

(Image credit: TBC)

A cork-board ’Inbox’, accompanied by thumb tacks, invites visitors to pin up any new postcard entries here.

A cork-board ’Inbox’, accompanied by thumb tacks, invites visitors to pin up any new postcard entries here

(Image credit: TBC)

Postcard shelves with stacks of postcards on them mounted on a wall.

The Gopher Hole’s curated selection of postcards

(Image credit: TBC)

’The Euro Isles: A Eurafrican Shift, 2021’ by Mat Barnes.

’The Euro Isles: A Eurafrican Shift, 2021’ by Mat Barnes, selected by The Gopher Hole

(Image credit: TBC)

’Bridge to Nowhere’ by Gabriele Garavaglia. A row of cannons aiming up with red, blue and white stripes on them.

’Bridge to Nowhere’ by Gabriele Garavaglia, selected by The Gopher Hole

(Image credit: TBC)

The Duty Free Souk of Gibraltar’ by Oliver Wainwright. An old style map with a sketch of a harbor below it.

’The Duty Free Souk of Gibraltar’ by Oliver Wainwright, selected by Geoff Manaugh

(Image credit: TBC)

’Cable bridge’ by Marco Peroni Ingegneria. A design of a cable bridge with a stamped text section below it.

’Cable bridge’ by Marco Peroni Ingegneria, selected by Geoff Manaugh

(Image credit: TBC)

Postcards on a wall.

An overview of the postcards selected by Brussels-based philosophers and writers Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesange, who began the Project Heracles call for ideas with their coversation about a Eurafrican connection, published in Domus magazine

(Image credit: TBC)

A postcard representing the Straight of Gibraltar. A city on a hill facing an sea with a large white fence built across it.

’who’s Behind Bars?’ by Des Eseintes, selected by Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesange

(Image credit: TBC)

’Pool’ by Abdel Harraga. A postcard with an image of a long pool with a woman swimming across it next to a lake.

’Pool’ by Abdel Harraga, selected by Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesange

(Image credit: TBC)

’Cable Car’ by Fabrizio Tozzoli & Eliana Salazar. A postcard with an image of a cable car going down the side of a mountain.

’Cable Car’ by Fabrizio Tozzoli & Eliana Salazar selected by Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesange

(Image credit: TBC)

’Offshore Bridge & Mediterranean City’ by Andrea Costa & Debora Sanguieneti. A postcard with an image of a bridge going over a body of blue water on it.

’Offshore Bridge & Mediterrean City’ by Andrea Costa & Debora Sanguieneti selected by Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesange

(Image credit: TBC)

Six postcards on a wall.

Curator Eyel Weizman’s selection. The architect, writer and curator’s work focuses on the architecture of political territories

(Image credit: TBC)

United Ships by Andrea Dragonni. A post card with the sky and clouds running across the top and ships on the ocean running across the bottom of it.

United Ships by Andrea Dragonni, selected by Eyal Weizman

(Image credit: TBC)

’A Rainbow is Made of Water & Sunlight’ by Nikos Smyrlis. A postcard with an image of the earth from space on it.

’A Rainbow is Made of Water & Sunlight’ by Nikos Smyrlis, selected by Eyal Weizman

(Image credit: TBC)

Six postcards on a wall.

The six postcards chosen by Carson Chan, director of Berlin’s Program gallery and co-curator of the 2012 Marrakech biennale

(Image credit: TBC)

’Lanterna Di Mare’ by Alessandro Lochiavo with Francesco Nava. A postcard with a painting of buoy's floating in the ocean with an island behind it.

’Lanterna Di Mare’ by Alessandro Lochiavo with Francesco Nava, selected by Carson Chan

(Image credit: TBC)

’Lanterna Di Mare’ by Alessandro Lochiavo with Francesco Nava. The front of the postcard with text and a stamp on it.

’Lanterna Di Mare’ by Alessandro Lochiavo with Francesco Nava, selected by Carson Chan

(Image credit: TBC)

’Euroafrica connection’ by Giorgio Cattano. A postcard with a drawing of an underwater pipeline with divers around it.

’Euroafrica connection’ by Giorgio Cattano, selected by Carson Chan

(Image credit: TBC)

The back of a postcard with printed text, handwriting and stamps on it.

’Euroafrica connection’ by Giorgio Cattano, selected by Carson Chan

(Image credit: TBC)

’Afro-Euro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group. The front of a post card which looks like money with 1000 Afro on it and a mans face.

’Afro-Euro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group, selected by Carson Chan

(Image credit: TBC)

’Afro-Euro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group. The front of a post card which looks like money with 1000 Afro on it and a drawing of a bridge.

’Afro-Euro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group, selected by Carson Chan

(Image credit: TBC)

’Euro-Afro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group. The front of a post card which looks like money with 1000 Euro, rectangular shapes and star on it.

’Euro-Afro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group, selected by Cameron Sinclair

(Image credit: TBC)

’Euro-Afro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group. The front of a post card which looks like money with 1000 Euro, a bridge, stars and a map on it

’Euro-Afro’ by Bjarke Ingels Group, selected by Cameron Sinclair

(Image credit: TBC)

’Bab Park, the fun park between Europe and Africa’, by Valerio Di Mauro. An image of people riding a roller coaster.

’Bab Park, the fun park between Europe and Africa’, by Valerio Di Mauro, selected by Bruce Sterling

(Image credit: TBC)

’Airship + Cable Car’ by Zhiguo Pan. An image of airships with cable cars running underneath them over the ocean.

’Airship + Cable Car’ by Zhiguo Pan, selected by Bruce Sterling

(Image credit: TBC)

’Airship + Cable Car’ by Zhiguo Pan. The back of a postcard with text and stamps on it.

’Airship + Cable Car’ by Zhiguo Pan, selected by Bruce Sterling

(Image credit: TBC)

’Circummediterranea 2020, Heracles Bridge’ by Allegra Morpurgo and Matteo Soldati. A map with a red route marked out on it.

’Circummediterranea 2020, Heracles Bridge’ by Allegra Morpurgo and Matteo Soldati selected by Bruce Sterling

(Image credit: TBC)

’Northern Line extension sticker #fnideqbranch’ by Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt. Two hands sticking a route to a map on a wall.

’Northern Line extension sticker #fnideqbranch’ by Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt

(Image credit: TBC)

’Northern Line extension sticker #fnideqbranch’ by Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt. A sticker with a route on it stuck onto a map on a wall.

’Northern Line extension sticker #fnideqbranch’ by Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt

(Image credit: TBC)

L. Alessandro Aldegheri’s temporary floating island. A drawing of a floating island in the sea between two pieces of land.

L. Alessandro Aldegheri’s temporary floating island

(Image credit: TBC)

A proposed ’chain of islands’ by Dr.-Ing Marketa Haist. A drawing of three small man made islands in a row in the sea with palm trees o them.

A proposed ’chain of islands’ by Dr.-Ing Marketa Haist

(Image credit: TBC)

’Fragile Infrastructure 2, The Flying Buoys’ by Sarah Angelini and Paride Piccinni. An image of Buoy's floating over the sea.

’Fragile Infrastructure 2, The Flying Buoys’ by Sarah Angelini and Paride Piccinni

(Image credit: TBC)

Alberto Bottero postcard proposed a dream-like sequence of thousand balloons floating over a bridge joining the two continents

Alberto Bottero postcard proposed a dream-like sequence of thousand balloons floating over  a bridge joining the two continents

(Image credit: TBC)

’A Living Bridge’ by Desitecture. A drawing of a bridge floating on the ocean above a picture of people on walkways with plants on them.

’A Living Bridge’ by Desitecture

(Image credit: TBC)

Dijan Malla’s ’Eur-Ika in a linear Waterway’. A sketch of lines in the water heading towards land.

Dijan Malla’s ’Eur-Ika in a linear Waterway’

(Image credit: TBC)

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The Gopher Hole
350 Old Street
London
EC1V 9NQ

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