The thing that drew me to the myth of Sisyphus was the concept of Eternity. His punishment is to push a boulder up a hill and let it roll down for eternity. Eternity, when you really think about it, is a spooky concept. Trippy at the least. I wondered what the world of eternal boulder pushing would look like. And if you were aware in the afterlife, like Sisyphus, what would you think of while at work? You would have all that time to mull over your life. So that’s what got me started. I was also interested in the nature of work, what part it plays in eternity, how it can reveal truths. I thought of Sisyphus as my father. When I was young, I’d sometimes wake before sunup and go into the kitchen. My father would be sitting in his chair, dressed for work, staring at the clock. He had a cup of coffee by his side and he smoked a cigarette. At 6:00 a.m. precisely, he got up and put the cig out and his cup in the sink. He worked three jobs and wouldn’t be home until midnight. He did that six days a week. As he passed on his way to the door and out into the dark morning, he always said to me, “One must retain a zest for the battle.” When I read the myth of Sisyphus, I think of it as a biblical story.
JEFFREY FORD