Greetings from the holes, the forest and the cloud explores open-pit mining in the Rhenish Revier region in western Germany and questions how human impact on landscapes can be remembered.
Through a personal perspective, the project unfolds through three non-human entities: the holes, the forest, and the clouds. As Germany exits coal energy by 2030/38, the region enters a decades-long in-between phase in which the mines will be transformed into lakes, while processes of control and alteration continue. Through a publication and three experiments, the project reflects on visibility, memory, and forgetting, asking how we can remember what disappears from view.
Through a personal perspective, the project unfolds through three non-human entities: the holes, the forest, and the clouds. As Germany exits coal energy by 2030/38, the region enters a decades-long in-between phase in which the mines will be transformed into lakes, while processes of control and alteration continue. Through a publication and three experiments, the project reflects on visibility, memory, and forgetting, asking how we can remember what disappears from view.
In around 2080 years, the holes will be filled with water and be lakes; people will go swimming, sunbathing, and relaxing. This will blur the memory of the holes into a recreational landscape. These landscapes should not be romanticised, should not become just beautiful postcards to swim in and enjoy. The constant altering and controlling of the land will not stop. The parasol, made out of a coal-like material and presented as an artefact of a beach day, reflects on the future of the holes.
1/2026 - Greetings from the holes, the forest and the clouds
A_ THE HOLES