London | Oct 2018

Inspired by the concept of The Hero’s Journey first published as part of The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), by Joseph Campbell, an American Professor of Literature and mythological researcher - it was a joy to produce this interactive art installation during my residency at Re:Centre, which became the centre piece for the final exhibition.

His theory discusses the journey of the archetypal hero shared by world mythologies, termed a ‘mono myth’, and has been applied by a wide variety of modern writers in contemporary film and storytelling, most notably when George Lucas credited Campbell’s work as an influence on the original Star Wars trilogy.

This installation mapped out the cyclical nature of The Heroes Journey into a physical path on the floor of the gallery. Each stage of the journey was numbered along with a short description. The full story only becoming apparent by walking around the different positions in sequence and discovering it for yourself.

In the centre of the gallery was a plinth holding a bowl of rocks which I dug out and cleaned by hand from the River Thames to use as makers, along with an invitation intended to encourage curiosity and exploration.

It was wonderful to witness different peoples responses and attitudes to exploring the artwork, and where they chose to place their marker. This became a talking point, encouraging meaningful conversation and connection between the visitors to the space throughout the exhibition.

When the exhibition was over all the stones were returned to the river to carry on their way…

The position with the most stones placed was Stage 5 ‘Crossing The Threashold’ - Committing to change.

The position with the least stones placed was Stage 11 ‘Resurrection’ - Final attempts & last minute danger.

“ We must be willing to get rid of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ”

- Joseph Campbell