Erika Freeman

This picture shows Erika Freeman – survivor, fighter, bearer of memory. She is Austria's best-known Jewish contemporary witness and has proven that fear and anger can be transformed into love and confidence. She became a well-known psychotherapist and treated Marilyn Monroe, among others. Today she is 98 years old and I had the privilege of speaking with her in order to create this work. The glass bottle represents a message in a bottle, a possible past for Erika. Six million Jews murdered in World War II, identities burned. The sentence “If you clench your fist, you can't hold anything in your hand” reminds us that hatred hardens us – and that only open hands can unite us. Erika holds a cornflower, a symbol of the right wing, and strips it of its meaning. She takes it in her hand – not out of fear, but out of strength. She shows that humanity is stronger than hatred.