The Right Circle, Anna Kirillina

Medium: Video documentation of the performance

Duration: 93 minutes. 2024.

“Creating the shape of a circle is inextricably linked to the theme of expansion as the process of endlessly constructing a simple shape and walking in a given direction in order to close a giant circle that expands as each of its parts is laid on the sand. Perhaps the circle will close, or perhaps it will grow and expand indefinitely...

This work was created on the weekend between my fine art classes, when I had the opportunity to fly to Miami and learn more about the history of that area. I was inspired to create the performance by Melanie Kozol, my teacher at the Pratt Institute.

The performance was held on the Atlantic Ocean coast, not far from the Miami Circle, the campsite of the Tequesta Indian tribe. They were among the first to inhabit the territory of modern Miami. There, the tribe conducted shamanic rituals and performed religious practices, reuniting with the spirits of their ancestors.

The work is devoted to the connection with the past, the pursuit of disappearing artifacts, and the belief in the possibility of preserving traces of bygone times.”