*River of Their Passing* (detail) | ink and collage on paper | 70” x 600”

All is a Circle Within Me

The works in this exhibition showcase the eternal interconnectedness of existence through two radically different modes of representation—one figurative and organic (River of Their Passing), the other abstract and geometric (Blessings to the Seven Directions). Both modalities take the circle as their central theme, a universal symbol used across many cultures and spiritual traditions to embody wholeness, unity, and timelessness. In creating these pieces, McIlroy embraces a worldview in which time is non-linear and cyclical in nature, and in which all beings and phenomena are profoundly and elegantly bound together in relationship. Referencing Alaska Native spiritual beliefs and Celtic interlace designs, All is a Circle Within Me immerses the viewer in allusions to the infinite.

River of Their Passing

In the worldview of the Yup’ik people of Alaska, migrating salmon that have died after spawning leave their “canoes” on the banks of lakes and rivers so that their spirits may travel overland back to the sea. The imagery in River of Their Passing draws on this conceptualization, and then envisages the flesh of another migrating species, that of the caribou, assisting the salmon spirits in their terrestrial journey home. From this perspective, the bodies of the caribou become an alternate boat for the spirits of the salmon, alluding not only to an ongoing and unbroken circle of time, but also suggesting the interpenetration of the material and the spiritual, the corporeal and the incorporeal. River of Their Passing images an existence in which there is no real division between past, present and future, and in which there is no separation between the world of the living and the world beyond.

Blessings to the Seven Directions

Blessings to the Seven Directions looks to sacred geometry and varying lineages of wisdom traditions that recognize both a horizontal and vertical structure of lived experience. The series consists of six works: East/Spring, South/Summer, West/Fall, North/Winter, Below, and Above. The design of each piece is structured around a Celtic infinity knot, a looped pattern that has no beginning and no end. The horizontal axis of existence is represented by the cardinal directions of east, south, west, and north, and the corresponding seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter. It refers to the temporal plane of life in which time is chronological and space is particular. The vertical axis is represented by the directions below and above. It refers to the eternal plane in which time and space are unbounded. The human heart, situated at the intersection of the two axes, represents the seventh direction of center. Together with the viewer, these works constitute a symbolic sphere that embodies and blesses all dimensions and cycles of existence.

All is a Circle Within Me will be on view September 26th-December 1st, 2025 at San Juan Islands Museum of Art in Friday Harbor, WA. There will be an opening reception on September 25th from 5-7pm. Please stop in and visit the caribou and the Celtic knots! You can learn more about the exhibition by visiting the SJIMA website HERE.

‘All is a Circle Within Me’ at San Juan Islands Museum of Art

Artist Interview at San Juan Islands Museum of Art

‘All is a Circle Within Me’ at the Holter Museum of Art