HELLO BALI - FEBRUARY 2002
Contemplating the Void
 
All ancient eastern philosophies understood the power of the circle whose interior void contained untold knowledge and the key to freedom from suffering. This image, a naturally occurring phenomenon in a cosmos without edges, complete in and of itself, has seduced Man since he was able to think. Artist Jim Elliott has endeavoured to capture its secret qualities, creating bold one-stroke dream images of circles floating in flat space. He has condensed the experience of the circle into simple two-dimensional elemental images that invoke a faint memory of Japanese calligraphy.

Jim’s paintings are simple, often characterised by a single image on a solid background, but they are from simplistic. His minimalist shapes fly and dance through their context celebrating spiritual cosmic energy. They contain the embryo of life, both in signs: birds in flight, unfinished circles accepting the outside world; and signals: they force the observer to think and in turn create his or her own interpretative language through which to grasp his art. The life giving forces of nature are pronounced sans decorative elements and colour.