Wild West - Sceneries of Abandonment

The ghost villages with their sceneries of abandonment are located in the Rhenish opencast lignite mine near Garzweiler in Western Germany. Under places like Immerath, Pesch, Spenrath, Otzenrath, Holz, Borschemich, Keyenberg or Lützerath lie the desired fossil treasures, which have been mined for decades.

The great energy demand of the people leads to landscapes left behind. Open-cast mining eats its way through the villages like a caterpillar, with its inexorable urge to grow.  

The interim period, after leaving and before the demolition of the villages, leads to the loss of the function of the once inhabited objects of the former residents. The lost functions lead the atmosphere of the villages into an uneventful state.  

The works were created in the years 2006 to 2015 and are the fourth part of the cycle Black East Wild West.