Rick Chapman
My obsession with searching the shores of rivers, creeks, lakes, and oceans for spherical rocks has fueled my lifelong interest in the universal truths held in the shape of a sphere. 30 years ago, the concept of my photographic CIRCLE series was instigated by research on circle themes found in religious iconography, architectural theory, and the structural systems of nature. This body of work has given me an opportunity to study what is remarkable about the mundane circles and spheres we encounter in everyday life as reminders of the universal truths they symbolically represent. In sizing every printed circle to the same diameter, I enjoy playing with the idea of the circle images as letters of a lost alphabet, assembling an abstract language that transcends the original objects.