"We understand the circle most commonly as a shape. In the realm of physics, a perfect circle exists only in theory, and some have posited that it is the nearest representation of sublimity and divinity, for the circles in reality cannot be perfect. Nonetheless, our understanding of the form goes further than its imperfectness. We see circles everywhere – we recognize it in various objects, or rather, we see circles in the world because it is rudimentary to our visual cognition. We have ascribed meanings and built mythologies around the Circle, and through time, these externalities grew into the rolling amalgamation of circular allegories: circle as a uroboric cycle, the meaning of life, or a barren eternity of repetition, amongst other sophistications…

A circle, imperfect, an imperfect circle, a circle that isn't a circle.

What is an "imperfect circle"? The very question designates both "a circle" and "an imperfect circle" as something that exists in pure objectivity, thereof severing them from the subjective apprehension of man. Instead of asking the former question, The Imperfect Circle seeks to explore the matter from a more felicitous approach. Consider these queries: Is an imperfect circle observable? When is a circle imperfect? Is there an end and a beginning to an imperfect circle? Where can we find an imperfect circle? How does it feel to be situated within an imperfect circle? Who is experiencing the imperfect circle? What can we do in an imperfect circle?

If an imperfect circle signifies all the possibilities outside the absolute of perfection, how shall it manifest its enthralling extensiveness, and its palpable beauty entailed by this "imperfectness", through all of its complexities? In The Imperfect Circle, AMA, Au Hoi Lam, Carmen Ho, Vivian Poon, Tsang Chui Mei and Wong Wai Yin will exhibit an array of works in different media including paintings, digital images, sound and site-specific installations, and kinetic sculptures, to evince their reflections and insights into the imperfect circular form. "

Image: © AMA, Osage Gallery