During the Covid pandemic, John Van Alstine returned to the Sisyphean myth—a theme he has long used to reflect on the nature of the creative process. In 2020 he produced fourteen new works in the series, responding to a moment when the world confronted both a global health crisis and political movements that openly rejected scientific knowledge.

These sculptures employ the formal vocabulary familiar in Van Alstine's work—circles, stones, arcs, and inclined planes—evoking the endless effort of pushing the stone uphill. In several works, titles and phrases stamped directly into the bronze add a new expressive dimension, linking the ancient myth to the challenges of the present moment.

The title references the famous line by Albert Camus: “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” For Van Alstine, the phrase affirms the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity to find meaning through perseverance, even in times of uncertainty.