Ne Plus Ultra (2022) 

Emily Rose Hastie’s debut sculptural work, Ne Plus Ultra, was exhibited at SWELL Sculpture Festival’s 20th anniversary on Currumbin Beach, Gold Coast. The work received both the 2022 Jennie Neumann Emerging Artist Award and the People’s Choice Award.

Ne Plus Ultra pays tribute to the mythic “Pillars of Hercules,” as reimagined by Spanish artist Ginés Serrán-Pagán on the shores of Ceuta, long considered the edge of the ancient world. Through a contemporary lens, the sculpture reflects on boundaries, transformation, and what lies beyond the limits we inherit.

Believed to be the gateway to Atlantis according to the ancient philosopher Plato, we are asked to reflect on the cautionary tale of this fallen civilisation that failed to respect the divine laws of balance, becoming greedy, and ultimately being punished by the gods. Like Hercules, however, man possesses the potential to overcome his limits.