Sisyphus

About the work

A sphere assembled from discarded materials, placed in a rural landscape. Participants were invited to push it or resist its movement — a collective action that revisits the myth of Sisyphus and asks what happens when we choose to stop.

The sphere brings together the image of a dung beetle’s ball and a planet weighed down by the excesses of civilisation. Alongside environmental responsibility, the work questions where contemporary art belongs and how an unfamiliar object can change our perception of a place.

What if we refuse to keep pushing? What if disruption is a choice?

At once alien to the landscape and deeply connected to it, the object embodies the recurring burden of human activity. Pushing or resisting the sphere turns the myth of endless labour into a possibility of choice.

Does art belong in places that do not ask for it? When something does not belong, does it reveal a flaw in the system — or create a new way of seeing?

Context

Created for Contemporary Art in the Countryside (2021) in a rural village, the project grew from the contrast between open fields and an illegal landfill nearby. Collected waste became a conspicuous object in the landscape, inviting encounters with residents and visitors.

Materials from the installation were subsequently recycled in parts.