Endlessly Happy

One layer of meaning in this installation explores the Lacanian distinction between an aim and a goal.  “The goal is the final destination, while the aim is what we intend to do, i.e. the way itself.”*  There are many endless loops in our lives - personal grooming, sleeping, cooking, doing dishes, going to a job day after day.  Some circular paths are positive aspects of our lives.  Other repetitive paths are negative and self-defeating, but it is difficult to break the cycle.

 

One of the necessary repetitive loops in our lives is laundry.  If our goal is to have it done we will be frustrated.  If our aim is to provide clean clothes we can be satisfied.  Laundry, the “uncompletable” task, is always there to be done.  Windswept linens and bed-sheets hang on the clothesline. Blouses and aprons agitate in the wash cycle. Little t-shirts and rompers tumble as they dry. Men’s shirts and pants wait for attention.  The cleansing cycle is endless.

 

*Slavoj Zizek, Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture. p. 5.