The Iona Community London Family Group has won an award to create a Fingerprint Labyrinth this year.
Non-violent protest
The right to non-violent protest across Europe is increasingly under threat from repressive laws, excessive force, arbitrary arrests, unwarranted restrictions and invasive surveillance technology. Amnesty International’s report, Under Protected and Over Restricted: The State of the Right to Protest in 21 European Countries (July 2024), describes what is happening in 21 European countries, including the UK.
Not everyone reads lengthy reports on human rights. So Amnesty – in partnership with ArtRightsTruth and York University – is encouraging artist-activist collectives to respond to the report in creative and new ways, widening the circle of participation.
The London Family Group is responding with a full-size, fabric, interactive labyrinth, created in the shape of a fingerprint. The Fingerprint Labyrinth will be installed on the ground in different community settings across Europe with an invitation to reflect on the freedom to protest. After a soft launch in May, the labyrinth will be travelling from June to September.
The recent lengthy sentences given to young climate activists for throwing soup at a glazed Van Gogh painting led Kaz Reeves, from the London family group, to write her poem Sunflowers. Kaz’s poetry, Meg Wroe’s painting and Pat Livingstone’s musical soundscape will be part of the labyrinth. Catriona Robertson will ensure the labyrinth travels to places & communities which resonate with the themes of the report, liaising with the Iona Community’s network of activists. It is hoped that the labyrinth will find hosts across the UK, Germany, Belgium & the Netherlands.
Fingerprints + labyrinths
Fingerprints go back to prehistoric cave art. The labyrinth is an ancient form, drawn on the ground, inviting participants to follow a path into the centre, pause, and then make their way back to the outside. It is a way of moving mindfully. In contemporary Europe, fingerprints are taken by police, prison & removal centre officers to identify individuals. Participants will be able to add their own fingerprint to the labyrinth as an act of solidarity.
The labyrinth will provide time to think about the right to protest. Our voices are raised on behalf of the silent Earth, for ourselves as LGBTQI+ people and allies, against war, against the racism and prejudice we face, against Islamophobia, antisemitism and more in this time of climate crisis, violence and inequality.
It will also remind us of how we are all unique, like our fingerprints, and that we share most of the same genetic make-up. This gives us the motivation to keep going with protest for human and Earth rights.
Stories from protesters, and also from folk who are fearful of exercising their right to protest because of the potential consequences, will be collected as part of the project.
Host the labyrinth
If you would like to find out more about hosting the Fingerprint Labyrinth (it will travel and comes with full instructions and support), particularly in places where people experience heightened barriers to participation, please contact the London Family Group collective on [email protected].
Follow the Fingerprint Labyrinth’s progress this year on Instagram @fingerprintlabyrinth and here, on the Iona Community website.
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