This publication documents Rivane Neuenschwander’s first comprehensive solo exhibition in the German-speaking world. The artist, born in Brazil in 1967, traces fears and hopes in her multifaceted work, showing how they shape people and societies. Her work is characterized by a keen interest in cultural, psychological and sociological issues.

The full breadth of her interests is reflected in this publication. It includes a conversation with Christiane Meyer-Stoll that took place over the entire exhibition period, providing an in-depth insight into Neuenschwander’s understanding of herself as an artist; an essay by the Portuguese sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos deals with the Uncertainty Between Fear and Hope; the cut-up poems by writer Anna Ospelt – an outgrowth of the exhibition – testify to Neuenschwander’s trust in the power of poetry, which permeates her entire oeuvre, as does the title knife does not cut fire, which is taken from a poem by the lyricist Herberto Helder.