DANGER 24 video - 24 artists (24 countries - 44 mn)

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DANGER

24 artists - 44 mn

CLIMATE REFUGEE, Evgenija Demnievska (Serbia - 1)

SOCIAL DISTANCING OUTDOOR ACTIVITY - Ylva Gustavsson and Anna Selander (Sweden - 2)

HOW TO SURVIVE 2 PINKIES - Katya Nikonorova (Kazakhstan - 3)

TRAUMA - Minoo Iranpour Mobarakeh (Iran - 4)

WARNING - Angie Bonino (Peru - 5)

FROM SPACE - Yue Liang (China - 6)

DANGER by Alessandra Arno (Italy - 7)

DANGER - Félicité Codjo (Republic of Senegal - 8)

WHAT IS THE DANGER? - Vesna Bukovec (Slovenia - 9)

EFFORT FOR THE INEVITABLE - Mesrure Melis Bilgin (Turkey - 10)

DANGER - Maria Papacharalambous (Cyprus - 11)

DANGER - Nicoletta Stalder (Switzerland - 12)

MASKS - Mouna Jemal Siala (Tunisia - 13)

MISS EARTH - Fatima Mazmouz (Morocco - 14)

DANGER - Lea van Steen and Raquel Kogan (Brazil - 15)

FOG AT DAWN - Viviana Berco (Argentina - 16)

DANGEROUS JOURNEY - María Dominguez Alba (Spain - 17)

INVISIBLE SATURATIONS - Helena Martin Franco (Colombia - 18)

DANGER - Susana Barbara (Argentina - 19)

RISK - Amaranta Sanchez (Mexico - 20)

THE SCREAM - Veronique Sapin (France / Canada - 21)

PLAYING WITH DANGER - Bharati Kapadia (India - 22)

TEMPORARY PATCHING - Tanja Koistila (Finland - 23)

COVID HANDS - C.M. Judge (USA - 24)

Concept

Danger has fascinated and worried human beings since the dawn of time. But what place do we give it now?

The notion of risk depends on our perception of our loss of control over a situation. And, it seems, we live in an era where this perception is on the rise.

Probability calculations are increasingly precise, and our institutions have a responsibility to anticipate and contain potential dangers. Our societies have thus developed multiple protections for themselves and for each of us against the risks inherent in life. We have set ourselves the goal of controlling these parameters; the unexpected thus has a very limited presence.

Yet, since zero risk does not exist, we can find ourselves in a situation of vulnerability, of precariousness against which we are not protected, whether for example due to our age or our inability to anticipate danger, which remains, above all, an event that is within the realm of possibility.

In 1962, the world was on the brink of nuclear conflagration. The East-West confrontation was at its peak; the enemy was unique, either from the East for some, or from the West for others. Things were clear. They are much less so today. A "general principle of uncertainty" now reigns (Power Inferno (2002) by Jean Baudrillard).

The works of the FemLink-Art artists, with their ability to plumb the depths of the human soul and decipher the warning signs, echo these latent threats and their perverse effects distilled into our lives and the world around us.

1 - Protean Danger

The danger is that we fail to recognize the extent of the peril until it is too late.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) - Politician (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), Writer, Historian, Military Officer

The emotional chaos of fear of danger lies beyond it when it transforms into terror: sometimes it is enough to glimpse something that shouldn't be where we see it, or simply where we sense it is. However, when the danger is very real and threatens the future of humanity, it is important to face it head on, while avoiding the establishment of a global and invasive surveillance system.

A Diffuse and Omnipresent Threat

There is no end to adventure. There will always be a new risk to take.

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

Writer (Novelist, Short Story Writer), Journalist

Danger is the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. A diffuse threat that hovers. Perhaps the most insidious of all is the existential threat. It is there, lurking in the shadows of our consciousness. It is that dull fear, faced with our finiteness, faced with the idea that everything we build, everything we love, is doomed to disappear one day. We ourselves, in the landscape, are destined to disappear. But between the world of the living and our final disappearance into nothingness, is there not an intermediary airlock?

The domination of machines over humans, prophesied by science fiction, today takes the form of artificial intelligence (AI); a reality present in our daily lives, and whose dazzling advances raise as many hopes as fears. In 2014, American billionaire Elon Musk called AI the "greatest existential threat" facing our time.

DANGER by Alessandra Arno (Italy - 7)

FOG AT DAWN - Viviana Berco (Argentina - 16)

RISK - Amaranta Sanchez (Mexico - 20)

Seismography of Risk

Only those who attempt the absurd are capable of conquering the impossible.

Goethe (1749–1832) - Writer (Poet, Novelist, Playwright), Philosopher, Botanist,

Geologist, Color Theorist, Statesman.

Artists capture the imperceptible vibrations that herald dangers to come. They use their creativity to give form to these invisible threats, which, although diffuse, have become a constant fact.

Disinformation and propaganda are formidable weapons that can make us lose our bearings and lead us to actions we would never have taken in normal times. The videos denounce the mechanisms of manipulation, the discourses that trap us in ideologies, and the fake news that makes us believe in alternative realities. They warn us of the dangers of losing our free will.

Günther Anders (1902-1992), a German catastrophist philosopher, wrote that "most people are not able to generate the fear that is necessary today. We must therefore help them." To this end, the videos remind us that the danger can be very real, especially if it hides behind harmless appearances.

HOW TO SURVIVE 2 PINKIES - Katya Nikonorova (Kazakhstan - 3)

WARNING - Angie Bonino (Peru - 5)

WHAT IS THE DANGER? - Vesna Bukovec (Slovenia - 9)

DANGEROUS JOURNEY - María Dominguez Alba (Spain - 17)

PLAYING WITH DANGER - Bharati Kapadia (India - 22)

Unpredictability

The unpredictable manifests itself in the form of shock. It is the main cause of fear according to the philosopher Descartes (1596-1650), who explained that it is an "excess of cowardice, astonishment, and fear."

Whether it is a reflection or a vaguely identifiable shape, it is the suspicion of a presence shrouded in uncertainty as to its nature that arouses the feeling of danger.

The unpredictable is that elusive shadow that hovers over our lives, that grain of sand that jams the well-oiled machine of our certainties. It is the danger that lurks where we least expect it, in the most familiar, the most innocuous things. Take this dog, for example. A faithful companion, a devoted friend, a being we think we know by heart. And yet, one day, without warning, he turns against us. Then there are those slugs. We assume them to be lazy and harmless. But what are they doing in that vase of flowers, slowly but surely? Finally, those warning signs. We pass them every day, without paying attention. But in this mirror, shouldn't they be illegible?

FROM SPACE - Yue Liang (China - 6)

DANGER - Maria Papacharalambous (Cyprus - 11)

DANGER - Nicoletta Stalder (Switzerland - 12)

DANGER - Lea van Steen and Raquel Kogan (Brazil - 15)

2 - Facing Danger

The walls we build around ourselves to protect ourselves from danger are also the walls that keep us locked in.

Angela Davis (1944-) - Political Activist, Writer, Academic, Philosopher

When danger creeps into our minds, it weighs on our well-being, our mental health, and our perception of the world. Its consequences, the damage it causes to individuals, societies, and the planet, can lead to a variety of reactions, from overprotection to irrational fear and social distancing.

X-rays of Negative Emotions

Life is a dream; it's waking up that kills us.

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) - Novelist, Essayist, Literary Critic, Editor

Fear is a natural emotion, a reaction to a real threat, but it can turn into a danger in itself by preventing us from reacting.

The great fear of the early 2020s, namely the Covid virus, is one of the driving forces of contemporary fear addressed by artists. The enemy is everywhere, in every country, in humans as well as in bats, perhaps originating from a Chinese laboratory or a cave. I'm afraid, you're afraid, he's afraid... let's stay away from each other.

Inaction is fertile ground for disaster. When we don't take care of our planet, when we don't fight pollution, deforestation, and resource depletion, we open the door to climate change, natural disasters, and the destruction of biodiversity. So here is our species, imperiled by its intelligence, and incapable, by the negligence of its laws and tools, of repairing the damage and anticipating the worst. Add to this our careless behavior, and we can conclude that our species is fueling danger. The works are a call to responsibility and action.

CLIMATE REFUGEE by Evgenija Demnievska (Serbia - 1)

SOCIAL DISTANCING OUTDOOR ACTIVITY - Ylva Gustavsson and Anna Selander (Sweden - 2)

TRAUMA - Minoo Iranpour Mobarakeh (Iran - 4)

EFFORT FOR THE INEVITABLE - Mesrure Melis Bilgin (Turkey - 10)

MASKS - Mouna Jemal Siala (Tunisia - 13)

DANGER - Susana Barbara (Argentina - 19)

TEMPORARY PATCHING - Tanja Koistila (Finland - 23)

COVID HANDS - C.M. Judge (USA - 24)

Countering Danger

Nothing in life is to be feared, everything is to be understood.

Marie Curie (1867–1934) - Physicist, Chemist (Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry).

Danger, whether physical, psychological, or social, leaves deep scars. However, one of the indirect consequences of danger on our lives is the emergence of an immense force: resilience. Women, particularly those confronted with forms of violence and oppression, have demonstrated an ability to rise up, rebuild their lives, and fight for their rights and freedom by challenging norms and taboos. This is an invitation to all women to break free from constraints and live their lives to the fullest.

Individual resilience is powerful, but collective resilience is even more so. When people come together, when they unite their voices, when they support each other, they become an irresistible force, and fear changes sides.

The discovery that our fear is based on unfounded fears makes it vanish, immediately replaced by a new perception: "Dare to think!" (Kant)

DANGER - Félicité Codjo (Republic of Senegal - 8)

MISS EARTH - Fatima Mazmouz (Morocco - 14)

INVISIBLE SATURATIONS - Helena Martin Franco (Colombia - 18)

THE SCREAM - Veronique Sapin (France / Canada - 21)