Labyrinth

Variations on the labyrinth design have been a recurring theme in my sculptures I have done square ones and triangular ones but I keep coming back to the circle. I made this model out of a mix of plaster and vermiculite about 10 years ago and intended to scale it up and cast in bronze but never got round to it.

 The idea was to gently pump water up into the middle where it would flow slowly to the edge and flow over all round the rim to be collected below and pumped back in again. As each channel flows in the opposite direction to those adjacent to it the play of light could be quite hypnotic, I tried filling it with water today but it soaks into the plaster very quickly, there is no flow in this version and was hard to photograph.

Even zoomed in on the photo you just begin to get a taste of how the light forms beads, with each wall polished to gold, silvery water flashing in the channels and the rest in dark bronze that would rapidly verdigris in the damp it might be fairly spectacular in the final version. I am now inspired to have another go at a bigger version with a pump...again it will have to be when I get a few moments to spare and a furnace...one day.