The Blue Labyrinth, or “Know Thyself”
by Artrit Bytyçi
Enter, Meet Yourself by Likana Cana is an exhibition that complements her Fluxus-inspired artbook, This is a Mirror.
The blue of the tulle textile that spans the event and exhibition spaces will undoubtedly be the first thing to strike you as an audience. Like an ether of a spirit frozen in time, it will invite you to follow it as it makes its twists and turns throughout Autostrada Hangar, leading you to the pièce de résistance — the installation reminiscent of a labyrinth.
What, pray tell, will you find there? The experience will be different for each of you.
At the gates, perhaps some of you might hesitate. “What blue magic might this be,” some of you could say. Others, as you blink, your eyes might betray you as you’d swear that you read the inscription leading to Dante’s underworld — “Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here”. And with good reason, for our daily lives have become so overburdened with thoughts so heavy, Dante would’ve had to invent a new circle just to classify the maladies of the modern human condition.
But fear not, brave (exhibition) visitor. Imagine you are in ancient times, and you have come to meet the oracle. Imagine that you are in Dodona or Delphi, and the inscription at the gates is “Know thyself.” Except that, you are your own oracle. You will be doing the hard work, and reaping the sweet rewards of your labors.
The meaning you will be leaving with after this exhibition is custom-tailored to you, by you.
Yet, it still is a quest, akin to that of heroes of old.
The blue labyrinth through which you will pass might as well be the folds of your own brain, shaped by your own experience.
The event scores you will read — like the ones found within the pages of This is a Mirror — will be subject to your own interpretation, action, performance, and healing. They will be a reflection of you, just like with a mirror.
This is the place where you will meet yourself. The first step towards knowing yourself. The first step towards seeing your own true reflection. The first step towards healing yourself.
On this journey, you may scream, or break an object, or even stare at something for a long time. For, figuring out yourself is like traveling through a blue semi-transparent medium — it is concrete and abstract at the same time. Both tangible and intangible. You can touch it, yet it escapes you like ether.
Reading This is a Mirror could often feel the same. It can feel blue.
Enter here all ye who still hope and want to know thyselves.
Enter, Meet Yourself is an exhibition by Likana Cana that complements her Fluxus inspired artbook, This is a Mirror | edited and curated by Artrit Bytyçi | produced by Autostrada Biennale.