THE PLEASURE DISPATCH · NO. 001
Ritual as Pleasure
Notes on Rhythm, Rest, and Return
2026-08-31
01 — A REFLECTION
I've been thinking about the difference between ritual and routine.
It started in Miami. I went down to document Kennedy, in the studio, at rest, and ended up paying attention to the small stuff: the pauses, the habits, the way her days had a shape to them. What makes something sustain you, versus something you just do.
I carried that question to Baltimore.
The city had an ease I don't often feel in New York, disparities and all. Greenmount Ave was my main corridor. Mama Koko's was the watering hole. The Coral Wig, the late-night rendezvous. 400 Conejos Reposado, a highlight.
The residency let me settle into my own rhythms.
Breakfast and coffee. Gym. Lunch. Shower. Studio. Dinner. Libation.
Grind Baltimore became part of it fast. A gym only a gym bro could love, honestly, but starting the day in my body before getting into the studio mattered more than I expected. Then the quieter parts: sunrise, the garden, sitting in the sun and letting myself slow down.
In the studio I kept circling the same words. Discipline. Strength. Sensuality. Shame. Balance. Worship. Pleasure.
And one question I couldn't shake: how often do I actually interrogate my own daily pleasures?
Maybe ritual isn't about repeating something. Maybe it's about which things you keep returning to, the coffee, the weights, the shower, the sun, the meal, the drink, the work, the rest, because they give something back.
It started in Miami. I went down to document Kennedy, in the studio, at rest, and ended up paying attention to the small stuff: the pauses, the habits, the way her days had a shape to them. What makes something sustain you, versus something you just do.
I carried that question to Baltimore.
The city had an ease I don't often feel in New York, disparities and all. Greenmount Ave was my main corridor. Mama Koko's was the watering hole. The Coral Wig, the late-night rendezvous. 400 Conejos Reposado, a highlight.
The residency let me settle into my own rhythms.
Breakfast and coffee. Gym. Lunch. Shower. Studio. Dinner. Libation.
Grind Baltimore became part of it fast. A gym only a gym bro could love, honestly, but starting the day in my body before getting into the studio mattered more than I expected. Then the quieter parts: sunrise, the garden, sitting in the sun and letting myself slow down.
In the studio I kept circling the same words. Discipline. Strength. Sensuality. Shame. Balance. Worship. Pleasure.
And one question I couldn't shake: how often do I actually interrogate my own daily pleasures?
Maybe ritual isn't about repeating something. Maybe it's about which things you keep returning to, the coffee, the weights, the shower, the sun, the meal, the drink, the work, the rest, because they give something back.
02 — THE WORK
Surface Tension
I keep thinking about what happens just beneath the surface. With Surface Tension, I’m interested in that space where something is being held, where there’s pressure but nothing has quite given way yet. I think a lot about restraint, desire, and the feeling of wanting to push past that point. There’s something sensual in the waiting, in not knowing when or if something will break. I’m still figuring out what these works are trying to tell me, but I know they keep bringing me back to that feeling of holding and releasing.
I keep thinking about what happens just beneath the surface. With Surface Tension, I’m interested in that space where something is being held, where there’s pressure but nothing has quite given way yet. I think a lot about restraint, desire, and the feeling of wanting to push past that point. There’s something sensual in the waiting, in not knowing when or if something will break. I’m still figuring out what these works are trying to tell me, but I know they keep bringing me back to that feeling of holding and releasing.
03 — STUDIO NOTES
A few of the thoughts, words, and contradictions that followed me through the residency.
04 — PLEASURE NOTES
An offering of what has held my attention
The Coffee
Black Acres Roastery
Golden Acres Blend
(Colombia Lomo de Buey + Organic Timor FTO)
Golden Acres Blend
(Colombia Lomo de Buey + Organic Timor FTO)
The Art
Richard Serra
Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, 2017 Dimensions Variable
Forged Steel
Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, 2017 Dimensions Variable
Forged Steel
The Meal
Branzino Piccante
½–¾ lb branzino
1½ tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½–1 serrano or Fresno chile
¼–½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 lime — zest + juice
Salt + black pepper
Cilantro, if you have it
Optional: 1 tsp capers
½–¾ lb branzino
1½ tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½–1 serrano or Fresno chile
¼–½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 lime — zest + juice
Salt + black pepper
Cilantro, if you have it
Optional: 1 tsp capers
The Libation
400 Conejos – Reposado
Neat w/ an orange slice
- or -
Espresso Martini
2 oz mezcal
1 oz fresh espresso
¾ oz coffee liqueur
¼–½ oz simple syrup
Neat w/ an orange slice
- or -
Espresso Martini
2 oz mezcal
1 oz fresh espresso
¾ oz coffee liqueur
¼–½ oz simple syrup
06 — A QUESTION
What have you made a ritual of, and what does that ritual reveal about what you actually desire?