“Ariadne’s Maze” Rationale:

In our current information age interactivity alludes to the empowerment of the user. The issue of control and freedom is a paradox in digital media. The user is bombarded with choice but through the very boundaries of media design the user is subtly observed and controlled. With the ubiquity of new media demanding our constant engagement how much freedom does developed society have? We must interact or be lost to the Dark ages. After exploring the themes of totalitarian interactivity and control in relation to causality and free will, I wanted to construct a physical environment that forced the audience to interact. The fact that the installation is predominantly analogue is a reaction to our present digital revolution and represents digital media’s coercive interaction in a tangible form.

The user (User A) enters the first small room in which they are presented with a plinth and switch. They activate the switch turning on the light-box maze which is concealed by a door and is now evident from the light emitted from it. The glow entices them to enter the maze. This maze is made of 8ft high light boxes. The process of an agent activating a switch that turns on a light represents the core basics of interaction. It is immediate causality, the user interacting with an interface i.e. the switch to produce a result i.e. light. This also has religious connotations; as God said "let there be light" and there was light. The maze itself is a literal metaphor for totalitarian interactivity. Once inside, the participant has little choice but to continue until they complete it. This is a physical interpretation of how media manipulate the user, through choice and is forced into interaction through promises and rewards. Hence with this installation the audience is seduced into the maze via the attractive bright light-boxes of the maze, which they themselves have switched on – implied user control equating user commitment. They're goal is freedom, beckoning the questions; when in the maze of media how much free will does the user have? In addition to the ubiquity of media in general throughout our everyday life, how much choice do we have with such engaging and demanding digital media? Simply finishing the maze and escaping the intense enclosed space created by the light boxes. On exiting the user now has a chance to climb the stairs to a low light observation booth 4 floors up. Here they are presented with another switch which turns off the maze light-boxes and simultaneously buzzes the next entrant (User B) into the small primary room. Now User A can look down on the divine design they have just experienced, completed and in a sense created though the turning on of the maze, and watch User B struggle through the same process; the creation of a spectacle, directly experiencing that spectacle and finally observing that spectacle being experience by another. Sign, signifier and signified. User A can now chose to be a voyeur or director, with the microphone linked up to an intercom throughout the maze over which User A can communicate to User B, directing him or her positively or negatively. This is the participant’s second reward; first comes freedom, then control from above; a small taste of Godliness, omnipotence and omnipresence.

This installation is aimed primarily at the Tate Modern. The Turbine Hall has 3400 square meters of floor space and 5 levels high, making it the perfect location. The maze itself will measure 40 meters by 40 meters and will be 8 feet high and probably, but not definitely be created by a computer generated algorithm. The observation tower is 4 storeys high, measuring 15 by 15 meters, constructed of steel and timber, as is the initial switch room, measuring 10 by 10 metres and 1 storey high. The budget will range between £10000 - £20000 and require a 6 man strong team to create.

As with the Tate Modern, there is no specific market this interactive installation is targeted towards. Any member of the public can enjoy the piece, the process of completing the maze and then looking back over it, after the helplessness of being trapped to the potential power they then have of controlling someone else.
There will not be any explanation of the installation on site. It is not important for the audience to understand the work, the significance lies in the fact that they have little choice but to engage with the piece, in order to experience it. The audience are required to use their imagination in deciphering the installations meaning. There will be a website and accompanying information where they can learn more about its contextualisation. I propose to create a complete virtual replica which will be accessible online for anyone to explore. This extra will be an interesting option for the user to explore the space within a digital environment and how their reactions to this version of the installation differ to those of the physical. However this will only be launched half way through the installations time at the Turbine, which is between October and March. This is intended to maintain interest in the work by authoring additional information available to the public at staggered intervals during its life span.