What is your greatest fear? What is your greatest hope? These are the two questions that Copenhagen-based Danish artist Charlotte Haslund-Christensen asked women and men of different ages and occupations from seven countries: teachers, police officers, artists, religious leaders, among others. The questions are the basis of Hope & Fear, a video art exhibition that can be seen until April 20, 2025 at the Parque Forestal headquarters of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Chile.

This is a proposal that is situated in the midst of the current global climate of fear and despair, but, in addition, it is the proposal of an artist with a preference for photography and video, in a contemporary world where the media and cameras have contributed to creating the current feeling of oppression.

– Could you tell me about your way of working? In particular, how do you approach the people you interview?

Before I started the project I knew that I would travel to big cities around the world symbolically representing the world today. I am very curious and interested in what it means to be a human being living in today’s world. I am also interested in the question of how can we live in peace with each other, because that is actually what we all want. In each country I worked with a local assistant, usually a woman, we would go out on the street and ask the two questions to people in different areas of the city. Then we would have a minute of silence together with all these people. I worked for a month in each place and did about 40 interviews each time. The idea was to try to get a representation with people of different gender, age and class.

– Could you tell me about your interest in working with audiovisual media?

The Hope and Fear project was created to be exhibited in public spaces and galleries, and is a continuation of my long-standing use of photography and video to challenge prejudices and stereotypes. The work provides a space for reflection on contemporary mainstream media, by offering the people depicted in the work and its viewers a moment to talk and listen to each other. One person at a time – teachers, police officers, artists, priests, shamans, children, teenagers, parents, etc. – fill each of the three screens, sharing their hopes and fears with the community. In their responses, people share common elements that cross continents, cultures, and language.

– Do you think there is a relationship between hegemonic media and the global sense of fear and lack of future?

Yes, I am sure. In a global climate of increasing fear and polarization, my work is motivated by the impulse to question cultural stereotypes and investigate the mechanisms for defining the self or the nation in opposition to the “other.” This includes questioning the role of the media in generating exclusion and stigmatization, in formulating and creating prejudices and minorities. I see Hope and Fear as a call for solidarity and the formation of a global community. By giving people the opportunity to have a voice, my personal hope is that we will all start talking and, more importantly, listening to each other.

– In a spiritual sense, do you think your exhibition could have a positive effect on the public?

I really hope that Hope and Fear has a positive effect on all of us. At this time in the world where there are so many challenges with war, climate change and bad conditions, it is easy to blame the “other”. I hope that all these amazing people we see in the videos, can show us our unity and our similarities. I would love to hear some reactions to the exhibition, so people are welcome to write to me at my email: mail@charlottehaslund.com

– Did you conduct any interviews in Santiago for your upcoming projects? Is there anything you noticed that caught your attention?

My next project is a photography project. In Santiago I spoke to people, but I didn’t interview them in the same way as in Hope and Fear, where I used sound. It’s my first time in Chile, so I’ve been traveling to Valparaiso, Los Vilos, and north of San Pedro to see some of their country and talk to the wonderful people here. Now I’ve crossed the border into Argentina and the province of Jujuy where I stayed with friends.

Marta Apablaza Riquelme is a freelance science journalist based in Santiago, Chile