Ariadne’s Thread
2019 • organza, wool roving, wool yarn, embroidery thread, monofilament • GalleryGallery, Kyoto
In this installation, I combine motifs from the Ancient Greek myth of the labyrinth with indecipherable ancient writing systems. Despite separation by location and time, these languages at times appear strikingly similar. The hanging tapestry consists of characters from the Byblos System, while the path freely mixes characters from 8 different writing systems which scholars have, as of yet, not been able to translate. (See list below.)
Rongorongo (Rapa Nui, 1680~ CE) • Isthmian (Mesoamerica, 500 BCE – 500 CE) • Olmec (Mesoamerica, 1200 - 500 BCE) • Byblos (Lebanon and Egypt, 1800 – 1400 BCE) • Linear A (Crete, 1800 - 1450 BCE) • Phiastos Disc (Crete, 1850 - 1400 BCE) • Indus (Northern India, 3500 - 1900 BCE) • Vinča (Southeastern Europe, 6000 - 4000 BCE)
