Hope

Standing on tiptoe, her arms spread like wings, ready to fly, looking skywards. This life-sized bronze "Hope" symbolizes comfort, faith and hope. Everything will be alright again.  

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 named her “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.
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 tape, widely recognized and internationally known by now. Museums were closed, culture was shut down. Public places were empty. People felt lonely.
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 this very special mannequin, serving as a model for this bronze cast.
"Hope" represents the essence of his installation. Her belonging to the installation is visible by the imprint of the barrier tape structure.