Crowded Loneliness

Priscilla Groß‘s pittura oscura consists in four superimposed photographs. Three black-andwhite photographs merge with each other, forming the center of the fourth photograph as a picture within a picture. The composition deals with the concept of „loneliness“ on different levels: The three black-and-white photographs cast a haunting, intimate gaze on signs of loneliness: > A close-up of the window cross of an orphaned attic lookout, on whose rung a stray butterfly sits trapped, gazing in vain at freedom. > A lonely cross, visible only as if through fog. In the feeling of loneliness everything becomes unreal and loses its contour. > The view of the back of an out-of-use construction trailer in the middle of the forest, barely recognizable. It has been parked and taken down, abandoned, without purpose. Priscilla integrates these three photographic perspectives on loneliness into a new reality in her pittura oscura. The butterfly suddenly finds itself in the car, whose transparent-looking backside wraps itself protectively around it. The cross seems to be perpendicular to the cross of the window, pointing a way out. While in other places boundaries blur, the signpost in front gains contour and sharpness. A way out of loneliness seems possible. In the next step, Priscilla Groß installs her photograph on the wall of an educational center, right into the middle of life. A crowd of young people run past it. They pay no attention to the multi-layered expressions of loneliness in the picture on the wall. Their rapid movements are directed toward their next destination. The artist relentlessly captures this as a color photograph without a filter: People blur as they hurry past being only dimly discernible, not really present. The installation shows that one can feel abandoned even among many, physically present or online. With her work, Priscilla Groß wants to draw attention to the phenomenon of loneliness in crowds. She wants to encourage people to go through the day with open eyes and pause to meet other people more empathically. A crucial step in breaking down the loneliness of the many overlooked.