Mapping in Wonderland

I’ve recently reviewed my old notes and made a mind-map of my understanding. To clarify my findings, here is another blog post. It never stops, does it?

In an early blog post I talked about disorientating the user. After reading about the spiritual connotations of early labyrinths in “The Secrets of the Maze” and reflecting on my own experience tracing through the Classic Seven Ring labyrinth, I believe a more appropriate focus of this site is to train and engage the user’s attention in the present moment, not to distract them.

On reading “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” I learned about the flow state of consciousness entered many artists report whilst engrossed in drawing, and also of the importance of seeing things clearly whilst drawing without the mind applying labels or filters to simplify what is there. Completing the exercises, I felt a similarity between the focus required to see things as they are (practicing the perception of edges) and the focus required to follow the winding path of the labyrinth. Taking your eyes off your position, you could jump a line, or miss a key drawing detail – total attention is demanded. In both ways, there is an object of meditation to return our attention towards, and as such, there is space for transformation.

I doubt that my project will provide the complete attention required to enter a meditative state; the nature of the internet is tainted for many through the exuberance of media demanding our attention. I’d like to think that adding the extra step of not explaining clearly what to do to complete each stage of the labyrinth the user’s attention will be engaged; however, engaging our attention on a virtual space, and a highly dynamic one at that, tends to provide more opportunity for distraction rather than presence and transformation. I suppose that this is the nature of an online interactive exhibit – there is always the opportunity to click away and watch YouTube videos instead!

So instead the focus of my labyrinth is much more like the labyrinths of words and concepts, as of those created by Jorge Luis Borges. His writing is incredibly deft, the labyrinths we create with him are intertwined between the seperate stories he writes. A primary example of this is the character of Borges and his similarities to the many other narrators in the book. What I create is the context; and following the black and white ethos of the labyrinth’s walls, I attempt to do so simply, playfully – building upon, or revealing, the already existing context of user interaction on the Internet.

My previous blog post, small reflections, was rather cryptic; there are many ways to create labyrinths. The story about the new perspective of reality that grew to take over the world is an incredible archetype labyrinth; considering the labyrinths of Twitter and YouTube as labyrinths of definitions, of walls, rather than a labyrinth of journeys or paths, we better understand what an online labyrinth is. However, I haven’t read Borges thoughts on computer generated labyrinths yet. As there is no way we are destined to understand the totality of all content created on the internet (and yet we try, seeking out information to try and make sense of it all, as proposed in Filling the Void) we remain lost indefinitely. There is no closure. There is no focus. There is only distraction, there is only illusion.

“So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality”

Alice in Wonderland (pg148 – original, unabridged)

Jumping on the cryptoart lainchan Alice in Wonderland fetish, I made sure to read the original book. The theme of dreaming detached from reality is very important in the virtual space, the scroll feed of online content is rather similar to the disparate nature of dreaming. I may create a video essay on this later.

‘Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?’ he asked.

‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said gravely, ‘and go on till you come to the end: then stop.’

Alice in Wonderland (pg142 – a Taoist philosophy)

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.

‘I don’t care much where -‘ said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

‘- so long as I get somewhere,’ Alice added as an explanation.

‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.’

Alice in Wonderland (pg 75)

The lightly nonsensical and meaningless / meaningful nature of these quotes does remind me of Internet.