HOPE
And then there was “HOPE”
The scary Corona pandemic inspired artist Dennis Josef Meseg to create his
work “It is like it is” – an installation of 111 mannequins wrapped in red and white barrier tap, internationally known by now.
It should make people reflect about the true values of life and give them courage in the face of the pandemic and its horrors.
Red and white barrier tape documents the insurmountable separation that the currently restricted life and the curtailment of fundamental rights of all people bring. A familiar community is broken down into a herd of individuals, all separated, and each yearning for familiar intimacy.
In the midst of this work of art, hidden yet always present, stood a special mannequin.
The Rebirth of Hope
At first glance she looked like all the others, but her posture was different, and with this detail she appealed to the artist whenever he displayed his installation. As time went by Dennis Meseg began to see, understand and appreciate her secret message. He gave her the name “Hope” because the figure reminded him of a person who has managed to shed the heaviness of his current situation and is tiptoeing towards better times, arms stretched to flap his wings and gaze skyward. Like a white hope for those who have been through hard times and cling to the belief that everything will be alright again.
Hope was the essence of his installation, so the artist immortalized it in the form of this one figurine – Hope – as a life-size bronze statue. Her belonging to the installation is recognizable by the imprint of the red and white barrier tape.
HOPE
Standing on tiptoe, her arms raised like wings ready to soar, looking skywards. The life-sized bronze statue „Hope“, core of the art installation „It is like it is“, symbolizes the comforting faith and hope that at the end of dire times everything will be allright again.
Hope 3D Scan
130kg pure bronze life size approx. 175cm / Edition: 111 copies / Signed and numbered.
HOPE has already been shown at the following exhibitions:
18.09.2021 open until the end – Permanent exhibition/ K&F Gallery Wesseling near Cologne
29.04.-08.05.2022 – Revierkunst 2022
24.-28.08.2022 – SwissArtExpo Zürich 2022
16.-29.09.2022 – Rome International Art Fair 2022
20.-23.04.2023 – Discovery Art Fair Cologne 2023
26.-28.05.2023 – 1000Freund Gallery Cologne