I wasn’t very close to anyone. Although, I guess I wanted to be.

The video work ‘I wasn’t very close to anyone. Although, I guess I wanted to be.’ by Clemens Wittkowski visually shows us a massive and rugged mountain landscape. We gaze distantly at cloud-covered, snow-capped, and sharp-edged peaks. The sublimity of the scenery, which has a clear art-historical reference to Romanticism, stands not only for untouched nature or archaic landscape but also for a psychological state. The symbolism of religion has given way to the psyche here. The result is a syncretism of its own. Throughout the video, the power of the mountain massif is drastically distorted in terms of composition – both visually and sonically. Inner perspectives change, as the contemplative calm of the beginning is contaminated by disturbances. The supposed strength quickly turns into weakness, parts of the massif seem to slip and are shaken violently, as in an earthquake – and with it our innocent gaze. An overdriven rumble, like that of an avalanche, feeds the experience of ambivalence as a natural part of our psychologically sensitive reality. Contradictory sensations alternate. And questions arise. How can we deal resiliently with situations that have suddenly become uncertain? How can we deal with emotional upheavals? What can we allow to get close to us? What should we stay away from? And where do we stand in general? Our ability to accept the coexistence of conflicting emotions, memories, and experiences as a matter of course keeps us in balance – as absurd as it may seem at first.

Video, 02:05 min., by Clemens Wittkowski, with I AM JOHANNES, Sebastian Morsch, Claus Friede*Contemporary Arts, 2025.