OUR APPROACH
The dispute over the mining of climate-damaging brown coal has become a dominant topic in the media in recent years. The emergence of the "Fridays for Future movement", "Ende Gelände" and "Extinction Rebellion", just to name a few, has given the debate additional impetus. Brown coal has become the nuclear power of the 21st century.
Our project, Coalscapes, is a visual examination of Germanys lignite coal mining areas. The photographic approach is focused on the bird's eye view - we used drones to document mining, renaturation, relocations and protests. The imagery is subtle and understated. We played with compositions of colour, shapes and details, resulting in images that are partly explanatory, but on the other hand raise questions.
Europe's Largest Coal Mine: The Hambach open-pit mine in the Rhenish lignite region is the largest and deepest coal mine in Europe. RWE has been extracting lignite here since 1984. To access the coal seams, the earth is excavated to a depth exceeding 300 meters. This process has led to the removal of one of the region's largest forests to make way for open-cast mining.
We began our work by reviewing satellite images to identify promising locations. Once on site, we flew over these areas to explore. Each visit was a surprise: some places had transformed dramatically in just a few years, while others had remained unchanged. From the air, many details become visible that are not noticeable from the ground. The dramatic changes to nature sometimes resembled abstract art, often leaving us astonished.
360° camera flying at the Garzweiler open pit mine.
Trapped and Rescued: In 2010, huge landslides hit the old Spreetal opencast mine. A red truck was swallowed by the landslide but was later recovered, and the driver was rescued by helicopter. Due to ongoing landslide risks, access to these areas is now prohibited.
Irreversible Damage: The vivid colors in this photo, taken in Nochten, Lusatia, show the impact of open-pit mining. When the earth is dug up to reach deeper layers, entire ecosystems are permanently destroyed.
Anti-Coal Protests: Activists from the anti-coal group Ende Gelände are halted by police during a protest at the Garzweiler open-pit mine. For decades, thousands have consistently protested against the harmful effects of lignite mining. The protests peaked in 2018 at Hambacher Forst, with around 50,000 participants.
For the 360° video project, we focused on the Garzweiler opencast mine. Due to the heavy camera and gimbal setup, we had to use a special drone, suitable for lifting heavy weights. The technical challenges were significant, especially with the fine coal dust pervasive in the mines, which infiltrated every component of our equipment. After filming, we spent long hours on intricate and computer-intensive post-production work.
Lake Transformed from Former Mine: Lake Partwitz emerged between 2004 and 2015 through the flooding of the former Scado open pit mine. To maintain water quality, lime is spread from a ship to preventing the lake from clogging and ensuring a sustainable habitat for aquatic life.
Germany's Top Polluter: Situated south of Grevenbroich and operated by RWE, the Neurath power plant burns coal from the nearby Garzweiler and Hambach opencast mines to produce electricity. With annual emissions of approximately 18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, it is Germany's top climate polluter.
