How Many Times Aroundthe Sun Must We

I.

Human life is all aboutcycles. Repetition, over and over, things happen. History repeats itself,mistakes we make, decisions, people, food we eat. All of it is on loop, but itis also on borrowed time. As gases burn, stars die and are reborn, we all end inone way or another.

Is humankind doomed? Asof October 2024, 5.22 billion people are social media users. That’s 63.8% ofthe global population trapped in a cycle of doom scrolling. In the digital era,it goes both ways. What we see imprints on us, and we over the decades havebuilt algorithms based on quasi-perpetual cycles of uploading, downloading,reuploading 360-degree views of our lives.

A candle once lit is acandle with the end in sight. While its flame extends to other purposes, say,lighting incense, the wick is eventually burnt to nothingness, and the waxdrips down the sides, as if tears that had borne witness to a fleetingexistence.

II.

What exactly isimprinting? As old as its Latin origin, (imprimere), it is to “press into” — toleave a mark. One can say that such is the role of an artist — the skilled one,that is — mark making. Applying pressure is the final act in printmaking thatproduces the image.

What then is the image?Perhaps fossils along the stretch of a white cliff that was once in the deepocean; or tree bark, undulating and repeating, lines and rings. A certain levelof decoding is necessary, for the image — mechanical as it appears — is asorganic and random as can be. Like the bas-reliefs lining the walls of ancient temples,history is documented as a muted landscape. In the Age of Aquarius, weendlessly scroll through our histories as it unfolds.

Wego back to the candle, or what’s left of it. Along the way, the artistintervened and documented the candle’s torment and existence.

III.

Asthe (doom) scrolling image is one that repeated (as well as the planet-passingspheres), perhaps we can turn to what Spanish writer and essayist EnriqueVila-Matas mused in his foray into “Insistence as Fine Art.” Here he quotes Kierkegaardwho himself claimed that “repetition and memory are the same movement inopposite directions,” and that because “repetition is remembered movingforward,” it is what makes humans happy.

Onthe other hand, being a practicing Buddhist, visual and performance artistZhang Huan harnesses simple, repetitive gestures akin to prayer. Easilymistaken for a meaningless chore, each movement becomes a part of a mantra.According to science, life is a cycle of repeating chemical processes. Chainsof atoms, molecules go on breaking down and making up, like a calming chanthumming throughout one’s life: “Om Mani Padme Hum.”

Inthe end, the candle disappears entirely, but not without allowing a glimpseacross its fleeting light.

Francisco Jin Sung Lee

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