Enigmatic Desire
Inspired by Salvador Dali’s “The Enigma of Desire”, This sculpture speaks to the fleeting nature of happiness. The fuller our cup, the fuller we want it to be. But the more we get, the less we enjoy the gifts we have already been given. Desire, want, and longing work enigmatically- we want what we don’t have, and when we finally get it we find that it only makes us want more.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned through art is that happiness is not an achievable goal- We can never truly capture and hold it as it is fluid and fleeting. To chase happiness is to embody the donkey that chases the carrot- no matter the effort, vigor, or persistence it will always remain out of reach.
It’s a life-long and arduous pursuit to figure out what brings us joy and fills us with light. It’s another internal trek to set ourselves up to obtain it, and it’s a whole other journey to learn how to maintain and fuel that internal luminance. But the reality is that happiness is not something that can permanently exist within us- like a drop of rain on our skin or the wind in our hair, it's an experience that lives within a moment in time. One that can escape as abruptly as it arrives. With this realization I thought to myself, if happiness is not something we can obtain or have but is rather something we experience, how can I best set myself up to receive and give this experience?
The answer I found was satiation and wholeness- a concept that the Japanese coined as “Ikigai”- Finding purpose and fulfillment in life. The work I do as a teacher, the new connections I seek and provide, and the relationships I continue to grow and nurture, give me the capacity for happiness. Instead of trying to capture and cage happiness and light, I aim to provide a space for it to flow into as it soaks me in its warmth before moving on and escaping into the people around me. It's a relationship that is represented by this vessel- one that allows energy to flow into and through it then to swirl within until it's time to find its way out and onto the next destination. I am resisting the desire to capture, restrain, or control joy and instead allowing myself to become a host for this fleeting feeling. With this shift in thought, I can embrace the happiness that flows through me and try to guide it to the places and people who could use a little light.
