Maren Jeleff / Klaus Pichler
When the first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic started in mid-March 2020 in Austria, we were restricted to our own four walls. Our flat is directly opposite to Klinik Landstraße, one of Vienna’s major hospitals, with windows facing to the hospital garden. Once a place with plenty of patients, visitors and hospital staff chatting, sunbathing or relaxing now became a sight with Hitchcock-esque qualities. The mood in the garden had drastically changed. Only a few persons were visible, most of them alone, obviously searching for some moments of privacy in times of tension, uncertainty and fear. It felt like the inherent social implications that play out alongside the pandemic were visible in a metaphoric way in front of our very eyes.
After two days of watching and discussing it, we started to take pictures of the scenery, carefully observing the few people staying outside. Therefore, the photos are not only a documentation of a hospital garden during a pandemic, but also visual allegories to a time characterized by insecurity and social distancing.
