Jericho Labyrinth IV

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Caroline Carlsmith
Jericho Labyrinth IV
2015

About the Item

Caroline Carlsmith Jericho Labyrinth IV, 2015 Ink on paper 29 x 23 inches 30 x 28 x 1.5 inches (framed) As a series of seven fine ink drawings and a limited-edition artist book, Jericho Labyrinths explores the kinship of magic and language through their shared reliance on association and pattern recognition. Jericho Labyrinths explores the human tendency to associate disparate objects through language and its use in magical traditions. One of the most prevalent magical conventions shared across cultures is that of association, or similarity: Because A is like B, they are thought to act in common. Another related tradition is numerology, which holds that numbers have special properties. There is also power in naming something and in knowing its origin. With Jericho Labyrinths, Carlsmith unveils a litany of associations between names, numbers, iterations and traditions. Probing the question “What is in a name?”, the artist integrates language and imagery to cast a spell with the “False” Rose of Jericho, the subject of her seven drawings. As an object, the “False” Rose of Jericho is a conundrum of relationships and is known by many names. A traveler (a tumbleweed) with the ability to cycle through modes of hydration/dehydration, the “False” Rose of Jericho has been used in many cultures as a healing herb, in spellcasting, or for divine communication. Though it looks like a piney rosette, this “Rose of Jericho” (Selaginella lepidophylla) is not a rose at all, does not flower and is native to the Chihuahuan desert rather than the Middle East where Jericho is located. It is not even genealogically related to the “True” Rose of Jericho (Anastatica heirochuntica), though Anastatica shares its status as a resurrection plant. Named for the famous city of seven walls, Jericho labyrinths are continuous mazes that have seven circuits. Labyrinths, as patterns, are circumambulated by pilgrims seeking penance or enlightenment. In mythical and psychological symbology, they can also be a trap, or a stand-in for the dark, untrodden paths within our psyche, as with the labyrinth stalked by the Minotaur. In constructing her spell, the artist has built her plant-labyrinths in cycles of seven: seven “False” Roses of Jericho following the path of seven unique seven-walled labyrinths, used as the basis for seven drawings displaying seven cycles of regeneration, drawn over the course of seven weeks, each. Seven is widely regarded as a number of completeness and perfection, and represents consciousness (the seventh chakra in Hindu tradition is atop the head). Jericho Labyrinths has the persistence of a stop-motion animation; when looking closely there is staccato rhythm to the lines and words. By watching the Rose of Jericho transform over time in the drawings and in the text, we come to sense the life in these “dead” plants. Like their subjects, the drawings, magically imbued by the power of association, resurrect themselves before our gaze.

Creator:
Caroline Carlsmith (1987, American)
Creation Year:
2015
Dimensions:
Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 23 in (58.42 cm)
Medium:
Ink,Archival Paper
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1883210150512

Jericho Labyrinth IV

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