El Laberinto Perdido

Now open at MetaLES is El Laberinto Perdido, a full sim installation by Romy Nayar, with sounds and scripts by Ux Hax. It's an arresting view right at the outset: in a dark, mysterious world, what appears to be a castle rises up on a massive rock that climbs out of the black waters. (I should say here that you have to have your draw distance up to at least about 200 meters to really see the structure, and the region windlight settings are a must. Photographs don't easily convey the view — click on these to enlarge.) Even as we approach its entrance, we notice a few things, including what appears to be a dead body, floating in the moat-like waters, and then a notice greets us: "If you decide to delve into the Lost Labyrinth, your deepest fears and defects will take your control. You will live them again and again and again and...again...No one has gotten out..."

As you enter the structure after clicking on the door, which rises to greet you, the first of many rooms or spaces appears. The way through them, as you'll quickly discover, is by finding the hidden doorways that lead you to others areas. It's not quite linear, and you may need to backtrack — after falling at one point I found myself in an area from which there wasn't any apparent exit, although there was something there to see. It's certainly a world filled with dream-like, nightmarish imagery. Romy typically doesn't color our experiences with artistic statements, but when I mentioned to her my perceptions, she replied, "That's it!! Your nightmares and your dark fears."

It's easy to lose one's orientation and to be uncertain one has seen everything. Be sure to have local sounds turned up as you roam, because many of the elements you'll encounter either generate sounds on their own or as you interact with them. And there is one interactive piece that will give you something: as you wander and explore, keep an eye out for a sculpture with four masks, although I won't reveal the outcome. El Laberinto Perdido will remain on display until the end of August.