The title of Adel Abdessemed’s 2011 work Hope references Caspar David Friedrich’s, Die gescheiterte Hoffnung (The Wreck of Hope, 1823–24). Friedreich’s painting expresses the concept of disappointed aspirations, mirroring the tragic results of many migrant journeys. The heavy materiality of Hope — an actual, dense object — contrasts with the recurring media images of mass migration which have flickered in and out of our screens for more than a decade. Adel Abdessemed recently discussed this notion and what moves him to create, in conversation with Shifting Vision.

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