"Free-dome" at Figment Toronto

The “Free-dome” was an art installation that went up at this year’s Figment Toronto.

It was a walking labyrinth placed inside two domes that sat in a fractal pattern.

A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path.

The Labyrinth mimics the circulation in our bodies and represents a journey to our own centre and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.

In the labyrinth, as in life, there is no single right way to follow the path, only the continued practice of trying to bring into wholeness all parts of your being.

This labyrinth was focused on the practice of letting go of fear.

On the table were several different coloured rocks labeled with different areas people often feel fear around.

People chose the coloured rock of their choice, and carried it with them as they walked the path.

As they entered the labyrinth, they were invited to focus their thoughts on a question or concern.

At the centre of the labyrinth they were invited to leave the rock as a symbol of letting go of their fear in that area.

Throughout the labyrinth there were the words from an excerpt of the poem “I Give You Back,” by Joy Harjo.

I release you, my beautiful and terrible fear.

I release you, fear, so you can no longer keep me naked and frozen in the winter, or smothered under blankets in the summer.

I am not afraid to be angry. I am not afraid to rejoice.

I am not afraid to be hated. I am not afraid to be loved.

You have gutted me but I gave you the knife.

You have devoured me, but I laid myself across the fire.

More pictures of Figment to come!