If I Could Wish for Something

The book was published to accompany Spanish artist Dora García’s exhibition “If I Could Wish for Something”, which was held at Fotogalleriet and at Netwerk Aalst in 2021. In 1930, German film composer Friedrich Hollaender wrote “Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte” (If I Could Wish for Something), famously performed by Marlene Dietrich. The song serves as a powerful expression of a complex concept: sadness as political strength. García in turn connects this concept with women’s struggles for emancipation. Disappointed in the promise made to them by revolutionary movements, which for now remains unfulfilled, women are seeking to transform this feeling to overcome the temptation of victimhood and open up the possibility of an ethical encounter.