State
of the
Region
The series State of the Region documents the visible traces of structural change in various German regions caused by lignite coal mining and the slow process of Germany’s exit from it.
For many decades the urban and rural spaces of the German coal-regions were shaped by the invasive nature of this industry as much as by its economic benefits. Human encroachment on nature has created new landscapes and irretrievably destroyed old ones.
Still the giant teeth of the massive excavators dig deep into the earth, creating vast deserts while elsewhere the same deserts are being flooded creating Europe’s biggest artificial lake landscape. On its shores new destinations for tourists and local recreation areas are being created, waiting for tourists.
State of the Region is an ongoing long-term photographic study of urban and rural spaces as natural and human habitats and the different processes of structural change that are shaping them.
Still the giant teeth of the massive excavators dig deep into the earth, creating vast deserts while elsewhere the same deserts are being flooded creating Europe’s biggest artificial lake landscape. On its shores new destinations for tourists and local recreation areas are being created, waiting for tourists.
State of the Region is an ongoing long-term photographic study of urban and rural spaces as natural and human habitats and the different processes of structural change that are shaping them.
© Marvin Systermans — Berlin