Everyday is the most beautiful

In the project Every Day Is the Most Beautiful, I documented my mother through video and photography as she relearns how to ride a bicycle after thirty years. Through this, she attempts to regain endorphins and to reduce the fears, anxieties, and depression connected to the difficult information that my father has stage-four cancer. At the same time, through photography, I tell a story about courage and the effort to overcome the constant safety of one’s home and to learn to step outside alone again. For a long time, my mother fulfilled the role of a traditional woman who stayed at home and took care of the children and the household. Having raised four children, she became accustomed to this role, which gradually led her to close herself off at home and stop taking care of herself as well. After losing the stability represented by her husband, the challenge of going outside on her own became even more difficult. However, it was the only remedy for the depression and separation anxiety she developed. She needed to move and to regain her sense of flow. The sentence “Every day is the most beautiful,” which was written on a board in the installation, may at first sound naive and overly simple. However, the repeated reminder that each day can be the most beautiful teaches us to notice small moments that contribute to our psychological well-being and mental health. This positive statement, like a motivational symbol or image, can function as a daily reminder to pay attention to simple joys. The heart symbol, which I often use in the project, functions for me as a bearer of nostalgia and continuity. As a child, I gave my mother a piece of paper covered with hearts, where the greater the number of hearts, the stronger the value of the message. Over the course of its long history, the heart symbol has become highly commercialized through romantic illustrations and Valentine’s cards. For me, however, this seemingly kitschy symbol still represents a nostalgic memory and a form of connection that can provide psychological support and evoke a sense of safety. Another element of the installation consists of wooden frames inspired by a picture of two dolphins from our bathroom and by my mother’s old quote about love, decorated with a heart pattern. The hand-carved pattern in the wooden frames emphasizes a sense of nostalgia and home, recalling folk furniture. In addition to separation anxiety, fear of loneliness, and questions of a safe space, the work also addresses the importance of flow in our lives and the act of reminding ourselves of simple “truths.” Because every day is the most beautiful.