GUARDIANS - Wet Plate Landscapes
by Christian Klant
There was this plan: Christian Klant wanted to photograph the bizarre rock formations off the south coast of Portugal with unprecedented perfection, with the complex collodion wet plate process, in challenging light situations, and with virtuous depth of field. And then he stood with his giant large format camera at his place of longing, on the cliffs, below him the roaring sea – and nothing worked. A moment of failure. Until he suddenly realized: the plan was good, but space was needed for the unplanned to unfold. Silently listening and seeing was needed, fully diving into the present scene. And so he found his theme: the interplay of perseverance and change. Or the theme found him: he was moved, as he himself expressed it. He began to photograph the coast on plates measuring 40 by 50 centimeters. His series is called „Guardians“. He sees these guards in a lost position. Why? Because even they, the proverbial rocks in the surf, are subject to the elemental force of change. The ravages of time gnaw on them in the form of rain and storm, ebb and flow, heating and cooling. The elements here are the tireless sculptors that create, crumble and transform. In their full vitality, the photographs also show a subtle trace of grief. However, the knowledge of transience does not lead to resignation, but leads to appreciation: What appears on the surface to be death actually shows itself to be change – something new emerges. // Michael Gleich
