Hearts are all around us
For nearly one year, I have taken pictures of hearts everywhere I went. Hearts from 12 countries, small like Liechtenstein to far away like Cambodia. Corona has cut this project short of a full year, but this work is now entering the second stage. I am currently working on turning this experience in a 360-degree art installation.
About
Heart project is a collection of photographs of hearts from around the world. During nearly one year, I took pictures of hearts wherever I went. Not beautifully arranged nor carefully choreographed, but a snapshot of something positive, a passing moment. I didn´t want to spend much time on it to avoid annoying people who were around me at the time. I just wanted to capture the message which went into drawing / making the heart.
In our generation, the media portray the world as a terrible place, with a lack of love and only tragedy. News hardly talk about the positive developments but only catastrophe. People are meant to believe that they never find love. Dating apps always encourage us to find the next best thing, to keep us a single and loyal customer.
But love is all around you. The more you open your eyes, look around you, the more you see positive messages wherever you go. I sometimes found many hearts in a single minute, in other times none at all.
The first stage was to share the love on social media. Instagram was my choice of platform. I posted a heart picture a day and wanted to enlighten the world with love. For nearly one year, this project was alive and gathered followers. At times, it was difficult to find hearts and I felt what it means to be single. Desperately running around town to find a heart which I can post. In other days I had enough pictures for several days ahead and I got picky about which further heart pictures to take.
Interestingly, the poorer the area, the more love was spread. In cities, which are known for their rich clientele, it was more difficult to find hearts than in cities which are known for their artistic and younger people.
This project was never meant to be the final stage but only the beginning. I am working on a 360-degree installation of all those hearts that you can fully immerse yourself with love. Unfortunately, it´s still work in progress as I am learning about the details of this technology. I am currently exploring different channels and platforms to display my artwork and how to encourage more people to explore my artwork.
Once live, I want to show people that love is all around you. The more people feel loved, the better society may become. Sometimes, love is not easy to spot. You need some time to understand the picture and avoid being distracted by the surrounding. But it´s worth it.
