Sam Durant
Labyrinth, 2015
Open Source / Mural Arts Philadelphia
Thomas Paine Plaza, Philadelphia
June - November 2015
Sam Durant addressed the quagmire of criminal justice by placing a 40 x 40-foot maze made of chain-link fencing in the center of Philadelphia. The artwork was conceived as a platform for public expression, where individuals could interact with the maze by walking through it and hanging statements on the structure, using it as a means to address the multiple issues surrounding mass incarceration. The process gradually transformed the maze as people placed drawings, letters and banners on the structure over the course of its exhibition. This project contends that our present system of mass incarceration is destroying families and neighborhoods, and that the members of the most affected communities, who often go unheard, have potential answers and solutions. “Labyrinth” functions as a double metaphor, symbolizing not only the struggle of criminals caught in the Department of Corrections as well as how we are all navigating the labyrinth of mass incarceration as a society.
Labyrinth was the result of a yearlong collaboration with The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program’s Restorative Justice program. The collaborators include inmates at Graterford State Prison (PA) as well as participants in Mural Arts’ Guild re-entry program. The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, commissioned Labyrinth as part of the exhibition Open Source.
Guest Curator: Pedro Alonzo
IG @studiosamdurant / www.samdurant.com
Photo credits: Steve Weinik