Loneliness and Joy

Simple but complex,

Short but who knows where is the end,

Luminous but dark,

Lonely but not.

This ongoing project presents a collection of personal reflections on a life deliberately spent in isolation, where nature becomes the ultimate refuge. It is a work of contradictions: a solitary existence that feels both lonely and blissful, time that seems endless but passes quickly, and the serene beauty of the wilderness that is both joyful and melancholic. 

A man who has made the forest his home for 35 years, choosing to live gregariously but sporadically seeking bonding; a shepherd in the fields, retreating from the problems of village life and making a moody sheep his only concern; a woman who has never left her island of 250 inhabitants, finding it the most fascinating place on Earth; a man playing the flute and drinking schnapps at one and the same bar on Inisheer, where his parents first met and married; and many others. 

These stories have compelled me to pause, notice, and listen. They have opened space for me to question the meaning of life. 

“Loneliness and Joy” is about all that will eventually disappear and yet all that we can still behold.

text: Ecaterina Rusu & Valeria Sokolova