Florian Graf

Advovates Close is known for its great view on the Scots Monument. People normally enter three meters into the close in order to take the well known picture - a uniform picture, taken 100 times every day - and then they leave again.

My work for CloseUp stands like a Watch Tower in the Close, encouraging to look at the spectacular site of the close itself. Spend some time in the garden and discover your “own” images. The Tower can’t be entered and is absurd because there is no view (Fernsicht) from that spot. I am trying to meet the spectator’s imagination. Looking at something means being looked at and therefore causes self-awareness within the surrounding. An Out-look Tower causing introspection by reflection - being aware of a wider context within a close space. How can you look in and out at the same time? How do I chose my specific closeups within my overall view?

There is a long tradition in building “follies” in gardens, stimulating the specator’s emotions. The garden in general always was a model for the world, a contemplative place, where one tries to overlook one’s own life in a wider context. How does my overview and perception of the world influences my daily attitude and activity?