The Man who Devoted Seven Years to Secretly Draw a Labyrinth
A parchment with a labyrinth that had never been seen before was recently discovered; it was the work of a man who spent seven years drawing it.
Jorge Luis Borges’ emblematic story, The Garden of Forking Paths, tells the tale of the Chinese astrologer Ts’ui Pen, who devoted his entire life to build a labyrinth, and in the process somehow duplicated the structure of time. Spending an entire lifetime on a single task might seem absurd to some, but if we consider that this task is the mirror of time, then maybe it is no different than that of the universe.
Recently, the story of a Japanese man who spent seven years of his life drawing an intricate labyrinth aided by his computer, made the headlines. It seemed that, after finishing his work, the man had simply folded it and tucked it away in a drawer, never to be seen by others. But while his daughter was going through his papers, she found the labyrinth.
If we take a closer look at the model, the labyrinth seems to portray the inner gears of a cosmic machine, as if the universe was an organic being, comprised by a complex communication and energy transportation network—A multidimensional map, which also reveals the interconnection between multiple layers; or a fabric where cells are gardens.
Beyond the possible metaphors and interpretations before this fertile piece, what remains unquestionable is that this is a Pharaonic, crafty, delirious, absurd and amazing work that took seven years of a man’s life in Japan.
Related Articles
When ancient rituals became religion
The emergence of religions irreversibly changed the history of humanity. It’s therefore essential to ask when and how did ancient peoples’ rituals become organized systems of thought, each with their
Seven ancient maps of the Americas
A map is not the territory. —Alfred Korzybski Maps are never merely maps. They’re human projections, metaphors in which we find both the geographical and the imaginary. The cases of ghost islands
An artist crochets a perfect skeleton and internal organs
Shanell Papp is a skilled textile and crochet artist. She spent four long months crocheting a life-size skeleton in wool. She then filled it in with the organs of the human body in an act as patient
A musical tribute to maps
A sequence of sounds, rhythms, melodies and silences: music is a most primitive art, the most essential, and the most powerful of all languages. Its capacity is not limited to the (hardly trivial)
The enchantment of 17th-century optics
The sense of sight is perhaps one the imagination’s most prolific masters. That is why humankind has been fascinated and bewitched by optics and their possibilities for centuries. Like the heart, the
Would you found your own micro-nation? These eccentric examples show how easy it can be
Founding a country is, in some ways, a simple task. It is enough to manifest its existence and the motives for creating a new political entity. At least that is what has been demonstrated by the
Wondrous crossings: the galaxy caves of New Zealand
Often, the most extraordinary phenomena are “jealous of themselves” ––and they happen where the human eye cannot enjoy them. However, they can be discovered, and when we do find them we experience a
Think you have strange reading habits? Wait until you've seen how Mcluhan reads
We often forget or neglect to think about the infinite circumstances that are condensed in the acts that we consider habitual. Using a fork to eat, for example, or walking down the street and being
The sky is calling us, a love letter to the cosmos (video)
We once dreamt of open sails and Open seas We once dreamt of new frontiers and New lands Are we still a brave people? We must not forget that the very stars we see nowadays are the same stars and
The sister you always wanted (but made into a crystal chandelier)
Lucas Maassen always wanted to have a sister. And after 36 years he finally procured one, except, as strange as it may sound, in the shape of a chandelier. Maassen, a Dutch designer, asked the