"I've always been afraid of falling..." begins the ghost Minotaur's tale of Icarus's flight from the labyrinth. Examining a relationship of loss and empty space, the piece combines the navigation of the labyrinth-like hypertext narrative with the physical manipulation of a virtual body as remembered and constructed through the text/memory. The movement of the falling body (Icarus as represented in marionette form - forever in suspension) is absurd - yet it is essential to the understanding of the emotional narrative. Lost within the space of memory, the Minotaur reconstructs his own image of the boy along with his fear of being forgotten and ... falling. Trapped within the labyrinth of the hypertext, the narrator's only hold on the past is the manipulation of the virtual body - one remembered, reconstructed, and always in danger of being forgotten.

the project
Inspired by a desire to create presence within virtual space, this installation challenges users to explore a hypertextual narrative - becoming one with the Minotaur as they search the labyrinthine passageways of text for the memory of Icarus. As they journey into the past, navigating the words and short passages that appear before them on the computer screen, their actions reconstruct the physical image of Icarus. Using a microprocessor and nitrinol muscle wire, the computer is able to communicate to the marionette and change his movements depending on choices made in the story. In following threads of narrative, a memory is created that is forced upon the physicalized body of the young Icarus.