Hope

Flight to Europe, surrogate motherhood in Russia, organ donation in Germany: wishes and hopes from an artistic, scientific and literary viewpoint.

With photographs by Sarah Hildebrand and essays by social anthropologists Gerhild Perl, Julia Rehsmann and Veronika Siegl

Hope is the fruit of a collaboration between the artist Sarah Hildebrand and three social anthropologists from the University of Berne. Shunning sensationalist reportage, Hope, with its compelling photographs and texts, follows the trail of people who transgress borders so as to achieve a desired goal: to have a child, be to able to prolong their life or to have an autonomous existence.

The authors report sensitively on the hope for a child through the reproductive work of a foreign woman, on waiting to get on a list for a donated organ. They also follow up on the hopes of refugees lost on the high seas or dashed on Europe’s shores. A sensitive, honest and humane book.

About the artist:
Sarah Hildebrand (*1978) trained at the Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design in Geneva and the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg. Her projects aim to explore the visible or hidden circumstances defining a person or a place. Her works are shown and publicised internationally.

Was für eine Freude es ist, allein schon das Layout und Design dieses schönen Bandes zu bewundern! Der Inhalt steht an Qualität um nichts nach und vereint Kunst, Literatur und Wissenschaft. (Birgit Coufal, WeiberDiwan, 15.07.2019)

Auf den Bildern sind hauptsächlich Alltagsgegenstände und Umgebungen statt Personen zu sehen, die Fotos hätten aber dennoch oder gerade deswegen intimer nicht sein können. (Birgit Coufal, WeiberDiwan, 15.07.2019)

«Hope» geht unter die Haut. (Birgit Coufal, WeiberDiwan, 15.7.2019)