‘Mumma – this is my rock from the river
Mumma – this is my rock
Mumma – help me to carry it
Mumma – I carry this side and you carry
this side
Mumma – we carry my rock together…’
[Dante – 15.9.12]
In his essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus describes how Sisyphus was condemned by the Gods for eternity to push a heavy rock up a steep mountain; upon reaching the summit the rock rolls back to the beginning of the journey once more and Sisyphus, resigned to his fate, follows to repeat this futile and infinite cycle. The aim of the Gods is punishment and retribution, but Camus argues that rather than punishment, in the acceptance of his fate, Sisyphus is instead offered a form of enlightenment...
[September 2012]
Dante carefully unzips one of her [many]
much loved handbags, sourced from various trips to the op shop; takes a generous rock
into her hands and gently places it inside. Zipping up the bag, she drapes it
over one shoulder, and stretching out her arms begins to drag herself across
the floor in her spica cast….
My two year old daughter, who is in plaster from her toes
to her hip, has set herself the additional task of carrying a heavy rock.
Dante: [smiling] ‘Mumma my rock is in my beautiful bag…’
This is her rock – she will wear it in style…
'The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy...'
[Albert Camus]
[image + text copyright Bek Misic 2013]
