Labyrinth

A labyrinth is not generated in the same way as a typical maze. There is nothing to solve, no game to play. Computationally, algorithms for mazes are germain to the history of algorithmic code. Procedures like the Depth-First Algorithm have long been used for various maze building and even generalized search techniques. But the unicursal labyrinth does not have that general use and therefore, maybe surprisingly, finding open source code for it is rare. It turns out that computational algorithms for basic human contemplation, the kind that labyrinths have been outlining for millennia, is still novel for the computer. And that is why we started our own verson of the Labyrinth.

The Feature Diagram maps the internal logic, generative geometry, and expressive range of the Labyrinth across all 400 works. Functioning as both an index and a field guide, it breaks each labyrinth down into its seven constitutive traits—registered as attributes within the digital token—and visualizes their distribution across the collection.

Each work is cataloged across two primary axes:

• Form (The Generative Geometry)

  1. Key: The foundational grid from which the path emerges.
  2. Path: The geometry and cadence of each bend.
  3. Complexity: The density and scale of the circuit.
  4. Mound: The topographical landform it rises into.
  5. Composition: How the structure occupies the frame.

• Medium (The Archival Record)

  6. Palette: The tonal system, pigment selection, or spectral band assignment.
  7. Background: The material, archaeological, or planetary substrate in which the trace survives.

Read together, these axes reveal that no iteration is arbitrary. Each piece is a calculated outcome derived from a unified set of algorithmic rules—echoing how ancient labyrinths repeated a single spatial logic across continents and millennia. Together, the seven traits assemble an archive of speculative artifacts, documenting the past and future forms of the Labyrinth.

Across varied mediums, the 400 outputs present the Labyrinth as distinct forms of historical evidence:

• The B&W Palette frames the work as an archaeological find—a black-and-white field photograph of a pattern carved into stone or etched in fine sand, documented on-site for archival study.

• The Print Palette captures the Labyrinth through historic relief printing and engraving methods. Its monotone and duotone colorways read like tactile impressions pulled from an inked block or etched plate, translating the labyrinth from physical object into graphic image.

• The Landsat Palette, which forms the core of the collection, scales the Labyrinth from the human hand to the planetary surface. Here, the labyrinth manifests as an earthwork viewed through the non-human lens of Earth-observation satellites. Each variation is named after an authentic Landsat spectral band combination—spanning early 1972 missions to modern instruments—tracking planetary signatures such as canopy cover, surface moisture, thermal radiation, and atmospheric density.

Across every palette, the work oscillates between an archival document of the past and a speculative landform of the future.

The physical reliefs are made using a novel combination of CNC milling and printing, where exact tolerances have been prototyped for maxiumum impact. Aranda\\Lasch creates physical works that reconnect new digital technologies with time-honored methods of making. CNC tooling was developed in collaboration with The Cooper Union AACE Lab with the support of the IDC Foundation.