circle collection - since 1996

The Circle Collection is my personal collection of everything that is circular and can travel with me in a small suitcase. The collection was started in 1996 after a man who visited one of my first participatory public pieces, gave me as a present some paper circles he always carried in his pocket to remind him of his record collection. The Circle Collection comprises object, images, postcards, video clips and even sounds.

I have always been fascinated by the seemingly contradictory nature of elementary geometrical forms (such as circles, pyramids or spirals), that are extensively used for the most mundane and banal purposes, and at the same time associated with profound spiritual or mystical concepts.

The collection grows steadily but in irregular bouts. I do not collect circles compulsively. Sometimes months go by with no new acquisitions, followed by periods of intense collecting activity. I follow simple rules: the circles are restricted in size by what I can carry in a suitcase, and they have to “call” me – grab my attention when I am not thinking about the collection at all. The collection grows also thanks to the generous donations of all the people that after hearing about it or seeing it, feel thereafter compelled to find circles and bring them to me for safekeeping.

As a personal collection I treasure it: it is a beautiful think made mostly out of rubbish, and its potential infinity challenges defiantly the very idea of collecting. As an ongoing art project it is ideal. It never bores me, it is always changing, needs no resources or funding to develop, and leave a subtle yet profound mark on those who witness it.

In recent years I have started to collect circles related to some of my other art projects, creating mini-galleries of circles within the overall collection, as an attempt to give the Circle Collection more visibility within my practice. The Circle Collection has never left my studio and most people have either learn about it via a verbal description, or seen it packed away in a suitcase. I am now planning to take the Circle Collection on tour, visiting places where it will be welcomed as a conversational piece rather than a visual installation, and to open it up to new audiences and hopefully to new donors.