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

Valerii Lamakh made this artwork, ‘Circle of Signs,’ as part of his ‘Book of Schemes’ project. It’s all about the interplay between black and white, signs and symbols. I can just imagine Lamakh sitting there, totally absorbed, working with the contrast of these simple shapes. What was he thinking as he drew each symbol? The central swirling form looks almost like a weather system, while the symbols around the edge have an almost religious or spiritual quality. Was he mapping out a secret language, trying to capture some kind of hidden order? I think of Hilma af Klint, another artist who, like Lamakh, was interested in the occult. It’s amazing how just a few marks can evoke so much. Artists like Lamakh continue to inspire me and so many others to think about how we perceive, communicate, and create meaning through our work. Painting can offer us a new way of experiencing the world.