Hopes and Fears started in 2007.
I was living in London, and I spent a lot of time watching people. Everyone looked very busy and preoccupied. I wondered what they were all thinking, and if they were thinking the same things as me. I decided to try and find out.
I started making and sticking flyers up around the London, half white text on black that said SEND ME YOUR FEARS and half black text on white that said SEND ME YOUR HOPES. Originally there was two ways to submit a hope or a fear: by texting it to a number, or submitting online. Here's what they looked like:
This first London version ran for a year, and the response was overwhelming. Thousands of people texted and submitted online their secret hopes and fears. In early 2009 I published 25 hopes and 25 fears as an artist book, which took the form of a deck of playing cards. Here's a picture:
It's now 2013, and the project rages on. Submissions come in every day. The original 2007 text numbers are defunct - the iPhone barely existed then, the world is a different place now. I happened to start collecting hopes and fears just as the economy was crashing and burning and banks were in crisis - I look back on the edition I made in 2009 and wonder how the hopes and fears of those who participated then might have changed. What about other places in the world? How would cities compare?
This site asks for nothing but anonymous insight into your personal hopes and fears, and participation is free: these thoughts from people without faces, class, or sex; they could come from anywhere, have any amount of money, go to any school, work any job. If you submit a hope or a fear on this site, your IP address is not recorded and there is no way for me to know who you are. I'm just interested in your hopes and fears. This project has no corporate backing. I'm just curious, and have come to realise that everyone else is too.
To bring Hopes and Fears to where you live, or for any comments or questions, email info at hopesandfears dot net.