Luxuriate in Discomfort

Luxuriate in Discomfort considers our relationship with discomfort, and how the relationship shapes our experience. Together, the works confront our pursuit of comfort and luxury via a double entendre: by living a life of luxury in day-to-day torment, or by seeking discomfort as a means to contentment. Born out of a 2.5 year inquiry into the nature of pain and happiness, the works comprise a large sculpture, painting, poetry, and a book and ask what is luxury’s ultimate prize, is it freedom?

LUX is a metaphorical parody of the LAX sign found at the entrance Los Angeles International Airport and references Southern California’s historical and current place as a global trendsetter in what it means to live an extraordinarily comfortable life, a life many aspire to through the lens of numerous LA-based reality TV shows.

HEAT and COLD symbolize oppression and rejection as personified by excessively hot and cold environments, and present an alternate path toward achieving comfort and freedom. A vending machine dispenses copies of the book, Luxuriate In Discomfort.