Issue 01: Circles, Spirals, & Survival

Finding Inspiration

Before I left for San Francisco, I was given a book titled Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction by George Bain. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time, and it wasn't until I found these circular canvases at Ross (a real treasure trove for art supplies) that I felt drawn to pick it up. 

The circular canvas poses a compositional challenge, so when I flipped through and saw the 'Spirals' chapter, I knew this was an idea worth exploring.

The piece I created features fluid, organic spiral-like forms that tumble across the canvas. Dark, almost void-like centers create depth within each spiral form, like an abyss waiting to be fallen into. I was inspired by the mathematical precision of Celtic triskeles and layered an abstract botanical style.

Celtic Spirals & Triskeles

My main source of inspiration came from triskeles, also called a triskelion: a 3-spiral design that, according to many interpretations, represents trinities of metaphysical ideas:

• life, death, and rebirth;

• body, mind, and soul;

• thinker, thought, and action.

In Celtic tradition, scholars suggest this triskelion held special significance for the Druids (more on them next time), and for them, it's thought to have symbolized perpetual learning and the trinity of past, present, and future.

The Book of Durrow, created around 650-700 CE, contains some of the most intricate examples of these triskeles. What interests me about these designs is how they manage to bridge mathematical precision and transcendence.

Circles in Nature

The author, George Bain, introduces spirals by stating:

The circle appears again and again in nature, and I'm keen to explore the circle as a motif of protection and survival:

• A bird encloses its eggs with a circular nest;

• A shell expands with a paced growth designed for defense;

• A tree marks its age with layers upon layers of cambium cells.

But to me, these symbols didn't simply "become" magical, rather they are an intuitive, if not vital, element of being. Circles and spirals in manmade art could act as a protection of our primality against our development, and perhaps destruction.

I revisit these circular and spiral motifs not just as symbols, but as shields — protecting our primal essence amid modern complexity. The spiral lives between the mathematical and the mystical, the protective and the expansive. That’s the tension I hope to explore in my reinterpretations of these ancient forms.

Circular vs. Linear Thinking

As I worked with these circular forms, I found myself reflecting on the concept of circular vs. linear thought across cultures. As a Chinese-American, I've often navigated between Eastern vs. Western cultural frameworks, both of which have been shaped by religious traditions (at least until more contemporary philosophical movements like postmodernism began to challenge these structures).

It's commonly observed that Eastern religious traditions like Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism lean towards cyclical perceptions of time, whereas the three Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—often emphasize more linear timelines of creation and eschatology.

To simplify an admittedly complex comparison, I align Western traditions with Linear thinking and Eastern traditions with Circular thinking.

Linear thinking tends to view life as having a beginning and an end with the promise of an afterlife based on a judgment of your time in between the two markers of life and death. And even when you get to the endpoint, there might still be ladders to climb.

Circular thinking is often characterized by the belief that time is infinite — without a clear beginning or end — unfolding in repeating cycles of creation and destruction. In this view, the soul exists forever while the body is humbled by time.

In this light, religion becomes a protective structure — much like the spiral — offering us safety against the discomfort of mortality.

The Spiral and Sustainability

Historically, the linear model of thought has dominated Western culture, and subsequently much of the world, with its rapid expansion through colonialism, capitalism, and consumerism. 

An overtaking of the persistent circle with a fast line.

But I can’t help wondering if we’re nearing that line’s endpoint. The climate crisis, ecological collapse, and burnout of modern living are all consequences of unsustainable acceleration.

We're operating in a world that's been experiencing exponential growth, but we’re still subject to the cyclical nature of life. What may seem exponential could eventually face natural limits. What goes up must come down.

Progress is inevitable, but greed is inconsiderate and impatient. Are the profits really worth the cost?

UP/COMING

Looking Ahead

I found 2 of these circular canvases at Ross, and the second piece (which I'll share next time) also follows the Celtic inspiration but explores one of their "barbaric" practices. This civilization intrigues me because had they continued to develop along their own cultural trajectory, the world we live in today would be quite different—an alternative timeline we can only imagine.

Next time, I'll explore how these practices connect to the roles of Druids, Bards, and Vates in Celtic society—and how my second circular piece engages with some of these elements.

Until then, I'll be contemplating the slow, steady growth of the spiral, and how it might inform not just my art, but also sustainable existence.

A FEW THINGS CURRENTLY INSPIRING ME:

▶ Album: Fasade by Celia Wa

▶ Read: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky