Worn Out Joy
2024 - ongoing
This body of work examines the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment in the current age, where these ideals are mediated, commodified, and sustained by what cultural theorist Lauren Berlant terms “cruel optimism.” I approach the subject through two intertwined roles we inhabit daily: consumers and workers. What binds these inquiries is the recurring fantasy of “there and later” — a promise that structures both consumer spaces and workplaces, offering happiness through deferred urgency of the “here and now.” I direct my lens toward individuals who move through workplaces and sites of consumption daily, reaching for ideals of happiness and fulfillment, performing them for others, or falling short of them. Alongside these moments of absurdity and emotional dissonance, I include photographs of children who are absorbed in play and wonder in the moment, unbound by the demands of productivity. The contrast speaks to what is gradually lost as we conform to social or economic roles that strip away curiosity and agency. Ultimately, this project asks: How do we pursue happiness and fulfillment when it is constantly sold back to us in hollow forms? And what remains of our capacity to inhabit the “here and now” rather than the endlessly deferred promises of a “there and later”?