Ensô 

Editor: Here we have "Ensō" by Hakuin Ekaku, created using ink. I’m struck by how this simple circle, with its varying line weight and the accompanying calligraphy, feels both complete and incomplete at the same time. It’s so minimalist! What do you make of it? Curator: Minimalist indeed, and deceptive in its simplicity! It’s tempting to just see a circle, isn’t it? But Hakuin's "Ensō" is a window into Zen Buddhist philosophy, a spontaneous expression of enlightenment itself. You see the brushstroke's journey - heavy here, light there. Like a fingerprint, its beauty stems from embracing its imperfections, and, maybe even from revealing those inevitable tremors and bursts. Do you notice any asymmetry or hesitancy, any ‘happy accidents’ that whisper stories? Editor: Definitely! There’s a visible wobble, and a few splatters too. So it’s about capturing a fleeting moment of insight? Curator: Exactly! Think of it not just as a shape, but as a performance captured in ink, a dance of intention and chance. The void inside, is not emptiness, it's rather teeming with possibility and potential. It invites your own interpretations, to make it whole! Isn’t it wonderful that such a simple thing can hold so much? Editor: Absolutely. It feels less like something created and more like something revealed. I definitely see more of a fingerprint now too. Curator: Perhaps "fingerprint" is too linear. Let’s call it instead a whole-hearted burst of ink into that perfect, imperfect, space, full of all potential. Editor: It gives me a lot to think about regarding perfection and intention in art, thanks. Curator: And for me, too, it is another encounter with my own limited understanding, constantly circling.