In the fourteenth century Pope Benedictus XII was selecting artists to work for the Vatican, requesting from each applicant a sample of his ability. Although the Florentines painter Giotto (1266-1337) was known as a master of design and composition, he submitted only a circle drawn freehand.
The discovery and appreciation of the circle is our early glimpse into the wholeness, unity, and divine order of the universe. Some psychologists say that the discovery of the circle arrives as the child discovers the self and distinguishes himself from another. Every circle is identical, they only differ in size. Each circle you see or create is a profound statement about the transcendental nature of the universe. Expanding from the "nowhere" of its dimensionless center to the infinitely many points of its circumference, a circle implies the mysterious generation from nothing to everything.
‘New Origin of the World’ was a live interpretation of Gustav Courbet’s infamous painting ‘L’origin du monde’. In a crowded pub in Peckham, South East London a life drawing class set up, and was filmed using two cameras. During the duration of the event, one camera remained focused on the model, whilst the other camera concentrated on the artists as they studied the model. The images were streamed via a live video link and projected onto a large screen in the Victory pub, in the East End of London.
