#theme:sad

What do you do with your sadness?

J: Usually I just drink. Stare at the wall. My sadness is a parasite, and my best friend, and the reason I exist. I also try to profit off of it nowadays and get some work done. I’m most productive when powered by overwhelming sadness or pure, unadulterated rage. Over time, you learn to ignore the leeches on your skin and embrace the darkness. And I guess you could say I’ve had a lot of time. Then again, I might just be the god of repression. I’m notoriously bad at displaying emotion to be fair, and it’s been 500 years since my last (mental) breakdown.

M: So edgy. Actually, we’re all looking into therapy because of our many, many issues. Especially Hans. 

Me? I sit with it like an old friend or enemy. Depends on the sadness, really. And why. If it’s a terrible ending to a great TV show, or a painting horribly restored, or a friend who’s no longer a friend, you have to feel it. Now, toxic masculinity dictates that men shouldn’t cry. I used to think that. But not crying only makes you weak. It’s okay to cry. It’s only human. Let the sadness wash through you. Goes for any emotion, really.

Some of the best art comes from sad people. However, pain is not necessary for creativity or even beneficial. Even if it did, we should not expect artists to suffer. What’s a masterpiece to a person? A paycheck to a person? How many mentally ill people didn’t get to learn art in school, didn’t get to pursue art full-time, weren’t taken seriously in their careers, or got sicker because of hellish clients and stigma? When I’m sad, I’m miserable, melancholy, a wreck, but I have to know why. Analyze myself. If you ignore all your pain, it will drown you. 

It’s okay to cry — it’s a release (scientifically proven after all). My sadness is mine until it’s not. My anger, my joy, my regrets, my dreams, these are all part of living. While people romanticize being dead inside, I’m not ready to die. I’ll just charm death instead. 

P: Most times I allow myself to indulge in the sadness - play sad songs, watch movies about dogs, and consume an unhealthy amount of sweets. It is not as miserable as it sounds, I just have to embrace the emotion, have a good cry, be all dramatic before I move on. Other times I turn sadness into power, fueled by anger and frustration. Anger and rage are often seen in a negative light, but they are valid emotions too! It represents unresolved issues, injustices that should have long been addressed, things that people should be talking about…. Anyways, that is how I deal with my sadness, I cry and get angry… but those are the times when I decide to face the problem and I am proud of it! ...*starts sobbing*...

M: There, there.. It’s okay Pete, we’re here for you. Look, I got you bubble tea. Hans, say something. 

J: I got a leech.

M: How is that supposed to help?

J: It sucks the bad blood out of you! 

M: Bloodletting doesn’t work! It’s absolutely medieval. 

P: Thanks? People say they are dead inside, but are we ever alive…I might as well give it a try.

J: No worries, they’re wonderful. Also delicious afterwards.

Photo by Jesse Milns

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By Peter P. Smithson

Framed onto the walls of the gallery, the subject of the photograph is unclear at first glance - cracking patterns and winding lines, who is the artist of these beautiful abstract paintings? Such textured brush strokes and vibrant colours...this mastery can only be possible in the hands of humans. 

Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch, based on the significant impact and markings humans have made on the Earth - to the extent where it “deserves” to be named a new era. The exhibition at Art Gallery of Ontario, Anthropocene, showcases photographs and multimedia documentaries done by photographer Edward Burtynsky, and filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicolas de Pencier. The intention of this exhibition, obviously, is to bring to light the mass exploitation carried out every minute around the globe, that went unnoticed as we comfortably gather around the marble dining table for an indulgent christmas feast. “In the Anthropocene, there is learning for everyone - how small we are in the relative history of the earth, and yet how much effect we’ve created.” Indeed. 

A “large-scale” mural is projected onto the wall, yet nothing close to the scale of the site, that of the destruction. I walk among rows after rows of frames, like a hall of fame. I stopped in front of a photo, carefully observing the complicated patterns and lights and shadows, striked by the beauty of nature, yet confused by its specticality. After a few tappy taps on my phone, I get to know the name of the site as Cave of Wonders, a truly overlooked masterpiece by Russian miners. The photographs are powerful, it forces you to open your eyes. It objectifies the surface we stand on. 

From colonization of the east, to colonization of the earth. Are we finally fulfilled? That we owe now the time, it is the human epoch, it is our epoch.

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