„Elmenhorst was my first video work. It was made at a time when I was dealing a lot with the aftermath of East Germany. Specifically: with the guilt of the parents‘ generation. My father was company commander of a border troop unit at the time of the Iron Curtain. I asked him: did you ever shoot? Yes, but only on a swan, he answers. Would you have shot at people? I got no answer.“ — Sven Johne

Elmenhorst, 2006
DVD, 6:30 min.
ed. 5+1 a.p.

In Elmenhorst, we encounter a familiar situation: a stroll at the beach, a father and a grown-up son. But what prevails is the speechlessness. Gestures and mimics of the two reveal the accumulated aggression and mutual misunderstanding. At the same time, however, a core of familial intimacy which is yet to completely submerge remains. It needs a gunshot — a bang — to break the wall of silence. Only the joint experience of pulling the trigger seems to enable a chance of communication.