Revolution of Joy

with Lillis Taylor

Arts Company,

Nashville, TN 2014

​

The rEVOLution of Joy theme expresses the metaphor of turning inward as the way to find where joy resides.  Trés often draws inspiration from the Sufi poet, Rumi, and for this art installation, Trés includes imagery of the Sufi whirling dervish. The dervish’s dance is a moving meditation: as he revolves, he slips into ecstasy. In the Sufi tradition, this whirling allows for the ego to dissolve and for the divine to come through.  Taylor draws on this imagery to speak metaphorically about the necessity for turning inward and for getting in touch with our own joy. “Rumi says that the true seeker needs to become a pharmacist of bliss,” quotes Trés, “one that is the inventor of his own joy.”

 

With revolving as the central theme, Taylor approaches this multi-media installation as an inward discovery depicted in outward beauty. Elements of the show will include a miniature theater featuring video, original works on tarpaper expressing ecstatic dance and songs of turning, and a window display of textile designs by his daughter and designer, Lillis Taylor.

​

This installation of paintings, prints, and textiles was the first exploration of The Revolution of Joy theme. The theme evolved into a community mural project beginning in 2019 .

​

​