Every year in November, I (artist manager) travel with my partner (artist) to Viña del Mar, Chile for 3-4 months. There we organize exhibitions, sell art, work creatively on other projects and enjoy LIFE by the sea.
On October 18, 2019, violent mass protests began in the capital, Santiago de Chile, often ending in violence. The mood in the country was tense, the gap between rich and poor was wide, and the population's willingness to continue to tolerate this was low. The protests continued – criminal killings were reported. The UN took notice. Systematic human rights violations occurred. Many people lost an eye, were injured, raped, and murdered.
Exhibitions are being cancelled, and art is considered a luxury item more than ever.
December 25, 2019: Downtown Santiago resembles the setting of an apocalyptic movie. Destroyed buildings, unrecognizable metro stations, and closed shops – graffiti reflecting the anger and pain of the population. The smell of tear gas intrudes on my nostrils. An oppressive feeling. The only thing missing are zombies.
Days later: The first news of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Chilean pharmacies sell cranberry-scented protective masks.
January, February, and March pass—people are steadfast and determined to change things. Demonstrations continue. Many people have lost their jobs due to the unrest. Elections for a new constitution have been announced for April.
January 2020 COVID in Europe.
March 8, International Women's Day – half a million women demonstrate in Santiago de Chile. Demonstrators protect themselves from tear gas with gas masks.
Ten days later – the coronavirus is here. Suddenly, everything happens very quickly. All countries, sea routes, and air routes to and from Chile are closed. The country is at a standstill. So are the protests. People are now walking through the supermarket wearing gas masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
Conspiracy theories are taking over my head. Our return flight is canceled. The German embassy offers us a return flight—we politely decline. The view of the sea is too beautiful. March 30, 2020. Is Germany at a standstill, or is it? Too far away.
The energy in Chile races through my entire body, vibrating like the small earthquakes I've experienced in recent months. Harbingers of the apocalypse? But where is Rick Grimes? And the zombies? As a child, I was afraid of exactly such moments: a virus that turns people into the undead and aliens that want to take over the world. But right now, none of that feels threatening. The coronavirus is there, but somehow it isn't, and people aren't turning into zombies either.
Maybe the time in quarantine is turning some people into zombies, but good zombies who just don't really know what to do with so much free time. And aliens who want world domination? Let's be honest, there are enough of those in politics.
Everything I feel is more like Alice in Wonderland, only not quite as colorful and completely without fear.
Everyone can now go down the rabbit hole. What you make of it is up to you, but one thing is certain: the world won't stop moving again this quickly.
Time to look within, to question, to feel. Dream a little before waking up.
OR just LIVE.
