Simina Oprescu
electroacoustic composer & sound artist
Journey For A Form
2022
The labyrinth has a vast symbolism, from Ancient Greek mythology to worldwide semiology. Labrys (Minoan or pre-Greek term) is considered a sign of life, with its diversions and detours, with inevitable traps where humans always try to escape them to the last minute of existence. In Greek mythology, the legendary craftsman Daedalus designed and built an elaborate and confusing structure called the Labyrinth. It was made for King Minos of Crete for the purpose of holding the half-bull, half-man monster called Minotaur.
The myth of the Minotaur is a story of tyranny and avarice. King Minos denied Poseidon a sacrificial bull, so the indignant god punished Minos by making his wife fall in love with a bull. The union spawned the monster, Minotaur. Shamed, King Minos locked him up in this structure. From this angle, feels like I am also the Minotaur, and the world is seen as a labyrinth. It finally arrives at a metaphor of traveling within, seeing the human constructed out of 3 extents: body, soul and spirit. All together walking the dynamic path of perfecting the spirit, conceived as a “road”. Another point of view is the symbol of the supremacy of the Minoan Mother Goddess. The labyrinthine symbol always accompanies women or goddesses, not male gods. Its more profound meaning is connected with the feminine life-giving force, as the centre of the labyrinth is the matrix of the Goddess.
The sculpture is constructed out of steel, playing a conductive part for the piezo mics fixed underneath it. It stands on a tall stander.
Amplifying the movements, the individual can play with the glass or metal ball while seeking the path to the centre. The piezo mics are connected to a mixer where modulating the sound it's possible, transforming the labyrinth into a sound resonating object. The room is dark with one spot on the labyrinth.
The individual hears playing an introduction piece in a quadrophonic environment.
While the sound stops, the individual may approach to the labyrinth.
The sound will start again after approx. 3 minutes of silence. In that time the individual can play, modify and modulate the sound as they please. When the music starts again on loop, the individual can also use it together with it, as a percussive instrument.