Happy Birhtday 1976

Oleksandr Aksinin made "Happy Birthday," well, sometime before 1985, using ink. This image is a curious hybrid. It brings to mind the intricate designs of medieval astrolabes, but with this quirky, idiosyncratic twist. Those radiating lines and concentric circles remind me of all sorts of things, like maps, clocks, or even mystical diagrams. The lettering embedded around the edge, it’s like a puzzle, or a secret code! I can imagine Aksinin hunched over his desk, carefully inking each line, each symbol. Was he thinking about the passage of time, about fate, or perhaps about something deeply personal? Maybe about someone’s birthday and how birthdays are both ordinary and magical, and a bit melancholy because it's another year gone? The overall feeling is so tender and strange, it makes you wonder about what inspired him and what kind of world he lived in, and what kind of birthday he was wishing for. It’s like he’s having a conversation across time, about the joy and mystery of being alive.