It takes only 40 seconds for the ink circle to stretch beyond the frame. Charwei Tsai paints a Zen Buddhist ensō – a circle completed in one swift brushstroke. Each ensō is said to reflect the state of mind of the calligrapher, marking a moment of mental release in which unconscious movement takes over from conscious thought. As a child, the artist practised the Heart Sutra (Prajnāpāramitā) as a way to comfort herself. A section of the mantra describes the inherent ‘emptiness’ of all living matter:

Boundlessness is the nature of all things
It neither arises nor perishes
Neither stains nor purifies
Neither increases nor decreases

The sutra suggests objects do not have a final, fixed form but are constantly changing. Eventually, ice melts into water, water turns into gas, and the gas condensates into water. Tsai’s simple act makes a ritual of this natural process.