The COAL exhibition highlights the social and ecological consequences of brown coal mining in former East Germany, for which villages were demolished, communities destroyed, and deep craters left behind without any public say in the process – interventions that caused both physical damage and social wounds.

The series Coal documents these lost villages and communities. Photographed using the reclaiming negatives technique Marike Schuurman developed for her work, these melancholic images reflect the loss. Boulders were placed as memorial stones near the former villages and stand as silent witnesses to the torn social fabric.

The series Toxic shows the ecological consequences of brown coal mining. What remains are toxic craters that fill with water. Polaroid photographs of future lakes in Lausitz, developed in acidic water, show fascinating colours and textures – but these bodies of water are not yet suited for life.

The two series illustrate human arrogance in its quest to control nature. The exhibition warns of the dangers in the way we treat the planet.