Labyrinths and Mazes

We shall not cease from exploring,
and the end of all our exploring,
will be to arrive where we started,
and know the place for the first time.
-T.S.Eliot.

Labyrinths and mazes cradle millennia of legend and lore in their twisted articulations and are often considered mankind's first creation borne purely of human imagination.

Tantric symbol from 18th century manuscript.
Copyright © 2002 Hermann Kern,

Semantically, a labyrinth is a meandering path that simply winds its way from start to finish like the grooves on vinyl. Mazes have forks, dead-ends and cycles but are conceptually the dual or the space between the grooves, where the complexity lies.

The organic labyrinths you see below are created with curves evolving under the forces of nature, guided by an artistic hand. One could hypothesize that earliest known labyrinths were inspired by such physical forms.

These labyrinths capture visuals viewable at sizes ranging from microscopic to planetary, while the path itself encodes a chronology, be it a story, lyric or melodic progression in time. Coupled with interactive technology our labyrinths are a fertile visual playing field... Experience them!

The music browsing interface Feeling Groovy maps 4 tracks from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to 4 labyrinthine images of the members of the band. The soundscape is explored by clicking and dragging the needle along the grooves or flicking it to play faster or slower in either direction. Track volume is mapped to needle size to illustrate how everything from a sound wave to lyrics or other information can be interactively displayed.

The executable above is self-contained. If it does not run, install Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 after which it should work on all platforms. Collaborative work with the fantastically talented Pierre Dragicevic.

	i drew myself a labyrinth once, to capture my imagination. alas, it was not as twisted as my thoughts, they got out!

	The exhibit above marks a 5 year milestone of an ongoing personal journey through the fascinating world of labyrintths and mazes. click on the image with the birds to view the exhibit catalog.

		...a long and winding road


...the sky is crying	...ustad ali akbar khan	...imagine	...crossroads






	...octokiss ...scream


Copyright © 2006 Karan Singh, All Rights Reserved