The Memory of Hope

As we age, hope at times becomes illusive while in our youth it was a distant mirage in the desert of optimism. Like the longing for a lover’s kiss, we used to embrace hope with excitement and fervor for what was right and what was wrong in this world. Now we stand at the shores of the future, see- ing in the distance the memory of hope.

In our liberal expectations, we seek the validation of righteous paths, yet the reality that confronts us is one that reflects the darkness of our humanity. We are the witnesses who stand at the side of the road, shackled by comfort and conformity. We are the consumers of the pain of others and we are the supporters of a distorted future. We are the blind eye that has turned towards a reality of our own illusions, a manifestation of our own fears; the fear of not going against the grain but of only tending to our own crops, even though around us the future burns.

Because to us the misfortunes of others are simply images flickering across our screens, we forget that the suffering of others will eventually find its way to us. Hence, this collection is of the futurenow and also of those who bear our burdens, who stood to confront the empire of ignorance and greed. Because not all of us have courage and those who do possess it, seek it without the confir- mation of glory.

We are in a time in which passivity is not an option. The violence of this world is not only rooted in those that profit from the toils of the disadvantaged but is also a manifestation of how we contrib-ute to maintaining our differences based on an idealism of superiority and rampant ego We cannot pass the foundation of our convictions on the promises of loose lips and the glitter of false faith. Hence, we must question “hope” while we also provoke calls to action for a better world, for a better future and are present as catalysts for change. The manifestation of this collection is to voice what we refuse to hear and to show what we refuse to see.