Circle of Signs. The Fourth 'Book of Schemes'. Album #1, the First Folder 1978

Valerii Lamakh made this drawing, Circle of Signs, which looks like it might have been made with ink and colored pencil. There is a formality to it, but it has a casual feel too. The layout is so carefully considered, yet there is a personal touch in the drawing that gives it real charm. The texture of the paper and the slight imperfections in the hand-drawn circles are still visible, which I think is really wonderful. I’m drawn to the contrast between the crisp black ink and the softer, more diffuse quality of the coloured pencil. Notice the way some of the shapes are more carefully rendered while others are left slightly open or incomplete. There’s something about this contrast of precision and looseness that gives the image a dynamic quality, like a wheel within a wheel. This work reminds me a little of Hilma af Klint, in its ambition to use a symbolic language to communicate some kind of deeper meaning. But like Klint, Lamakh embraces ambiguity, and invites us to find our own interpretations within the circle.