Sisyphus’ Rock (The Original Artwork)

Image of Sisyphus’ Rock (The Original Artwork)

$30,000.00

Acrylic Painting on Canvas

The first painting of the "Happiness" series. Sisyphus is a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again.

The story symbolises the vain struggle of human in their entire life. Albert Camus, in his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus, shared a similar view. At the end of his essay, he concluded “one must imagine Sisyphus happy” as “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.”

And so in my painting, there is an enlightened Sisyphus meditating on the top of his rock.

西西弗斯是希臘神話中的人物,他一度綁架了死神,讓世間沒有了死亡。諸神為了懲罰西西弗斯,要他把一塊巨石推上山頂, 而當巨石快要送到山頂之際,又會滾下山去,讓他前功盡棄。於是西西弗斯就不斷重複、永無止境地做這件事——諸神認為再也沒有比進行這種無效無望的勞動更為嚴厲的懲罰了。西西弗斯的生命就在這樣一件無效又無望的勞作當中慢慢消耗殆盡。

終於有一天,西西弗斯卻在這種孤獨、荒誕、絕望的生命過程中發現了新的意義——他看到了巨石在他的推動下散發出一種動感龐然的美妙,他與巨石的較量所碰撞出來的力量,像舞蹈一樣優美。他沉醉在這種幸福當中,以至於再也感覺不到苦難了。當巨石不再成為他心中的苦難之時,諸神便不再讓巨石從山頂滾落下來。西西弗斯在這一奇妙的發現中超越了自己的命運。在那微妙的時刻,西西弗斯回身走向巨石,他靜觀那一系列並無直接關聯卻跟他自己的命運緊緊相連的生命行動,發現正是自己創造了自己的命運。於是他變得比他推動的巨石還要堅硬。征服頂峰的鬥爭本身,足以充實人的心靈。西西弗斯終於找到了屬於自己的那一種幸福。

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