In Pursuit of Happiness
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‘Humans are always trying to find happiness where ever they can.’
Although it’s not a deciding factor whether we could be functional in society, researches have shown that being happy is important for our mental and physical health.
More often than not, I found myself asking questions whether a person I talked to, people I met or even strangers who passed me on streets were happy. They seemed content with their lives.
Yet, life is not that simple. To be truly happy we are always looking for something. In an article written by Olivia Goldhill for Quartz, “Neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp argues that of seven core instincts in the human brain (anger, fear, panic-grief, maternal care, pleasure/lust, play, and seeking), seeking is the most important.” We always need more.
That ‘something’ we are looking for in order to be happy is different for each of us. Democritus had contended that happiness was ‘case of mind’. Everyone has their own definitions about happiness. What one would constitute as happiness, others wouldn’t necessarily share the same idea. I believe happiness is a subjective matter.
The series examines the people I met in public settings who were pursuing happiness. It’s a part of my personal project about life in urban area.
Aftonun Nuha
Aftonun Nuha adalah seorang fotografer independen yang berbasis di Surabaya. Dia berfokus ke isu sosial dan lingkungan. Jika tidak sedang dalam penugasan editorial, dia mengalihkan perhatiannya di dua proyek personalnya yang berkaitan dengan komunitas religi. Di tahun 2020, dia terpilih sebagai salah satu partisipan di pameran fotografi kolektif ‘Vision 20/20’ di Galerija Jakopič, Slovenia.