The Helical Seeker
Sharing some more details of the artworks we made for the Vanishing Labyrinths of the Isles of Scilly exhibition at St Agnes Island Hall…
The Helical Seeker sculpture in the exhibition space…
A focal point for this exhibition was the Helical Seeker - an original sculpture by Layan Harman. This device belongs to a figure that stands at the intersection of dowsing (seeking for earth energies, minerals or water sources through attunement to unseen influences) and geophysics (the use of physics to analyse geological phenomena). Both these disciplines are connected to the history of labyrinths in Scilly but have historically been at odds with each other. We wanted to bring them together with our labyrinth project, appreciating the value of both the scientific and the mysterious.
The sculpture as survey device…
The sculpture as a portal…
The Helical Seeker character - created by Layan and photographed by Teän out at Giant’s Castle Maze as part of the Vanishing Labyrinths project - uses his mysterious survey device to unite the ancient practice of dowsing with the modern technology of geophysics. These disciplines come from perhaps opposing worldviews - spiritual/scientific, empirical/intuitive - yet both have similar goals: to extend the ordinary senses, in order to see within the earth. To bring out truths that lie hidden there for the benefit of the present. The owner of this device has attempted to reconcile these worldviews and bring them together, however imperfectly, in order to comprehensively survey Giant’s Castle Maze.
This character wields a device which functions as both a piece of surveying equipment and a ceremonial gateway, offering passage into a realm of subtle subterranean forces. It does not promise data or knowledge, only sensitisation - it is an aid to seeking, born from a yearning to understand. Created as part of our Scilly Labyrinths project, this artwork performs a similar function to the labyrinths, which have long been understood as “thin places” - portals to another realm where they magical any unknowable can be glimpsed.
The Helical Seeker has been constructed from: aluminium, mild steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, marine plywood, sapele, cabbage palm fibre, heather, lichen, SWA cable and cable glands, handlebar tape, parts from a microscope, laminator, and laser cutter, soil, granite, water, seashells, honeycomb, quartz, linen, beeswax and a hagstone.
For more of Layan's sculpture and costume work, visit: https://2023.rca.ac.uk/students/layan-harman/
