Labyrinths are spaces to get lost in. Human inventions of geometry for the purpose of contemplation, meditation, and ascension. Their long history demonstrates that “getting lost” is a foil for a vast range of spatial contemplations and material outcomes. Yet the irony of the Labyrinth is that you only get lost in yourself.
Most labyrinths are unicursal: a single path leading towards a destination. One way in, one way out. These patterns may vary in elaboration, but the result always follows this simple logic. Its persistence over millennia and across cultures points to a deep connection between algorithmic thought and human ritual.
THE LABYRINTH IS THE ORIGINAL ALGORITHM
While weaving predates it as a material process, the labyrinth is humanity’s original algorithm designed for contemplation, not utility. The same labyrinth, the same method of drawing, appears across a vast range of cultures and eras. These historical labyrinths show that underscoring the bare rationality of labyrinth drawing, of turning corners and making loops, is something quite profound. Traveling through a labyrinth is a contemplative act and often a stepping-stone to the allegorical, spiritual, and irrational realms. In the labyrinth, the human mind finds both a shared space of purpose and a collective outlet for getting lost. It orients us to our humanity.
LABYRINTH GEOMETRY
A labyrinth is not a maze. There is nothing to solve, no game to play. Computationally, algorithms for mazes are germane to the history of algorithmic code. Procedures like the Depth-First Search have long been used for various maze-building and even generalized search techniques. But the unicursal labyrinth does not have that general use and therefore, maybe surprisingly, finding open-source code for it is rare. It turns out that computational algorithms for basic human contemplation, the kind that labyrinths have been outlining for millennia, are still novel for the computer. That’s why we made our own version of the Labyrinth.
THE LABYRINTH - IMAGE & OBJECT
The Labyrinth project bridges the boundary between generative image and physical form. It launches initially with an exclusive set of wall-mounted physical reliefs featuring high-resolution, full-color, three-dimensional texture, and expands through a digital edition of 400 unique artworks. Each digital release grants its owner the license to order a physical relief through this custom process. By enabling the digital outputs to manifest as tactile artifacts, the project investigates the space where image and object merge.
The current owner of a Labyrinth artwork may order physical reliefs until November 11, 2027. For pricing, timing, and details, contact Heft at info@heftgallery.com or Aranda\Lasch at info@arandalasch.com.
DISPLAY
Click the image to generate the 4K version. Some designs can take a minute or more to generate. Once generated, mouse over to download the 4K image, or press “S”.
REFERENCES AND CREDITS
Built with three.js. Terrain erosion adapted from Sebastian Lague's Hydraulic Erosion (MIT). Fractal and Voronoi noise adapted from Blender Cycles (Apache 2.0); value noise by Morgan McGuire (BSD). Randomness: sfc32 (Chris Doty-Humphrey) and the PCG hash (Jarzynski and Olano). Environment light: "Venice Sunset", Poly Haven (CC0).