Juergen Sarge

‘Kohle’ is the german word for coal, but it is also a vernacular reference to ‘money’.

Four years I have been regularly visiting the villages: Manheim, Immerath, Morschenich, Lützerath and Hambacher forst, an adjacent ancient forest. I photographed the state of the peoples homes and buildings following evictions, their gradual demolition and the whole scale destruction of these villages due to brown coal surface mining. Despite the urgency of current debates over environmental pollution, bio-diversity and global climate change, germany’s second largest power company continues to succeed in gaining authorisation for maintain massive opencast brown coal mining plants in the area occupied by these villages and the ancient forest.

As of today, the people have lost their homes due and have been relocated. Meanwhile, debates and demolitions are on-going. The selection of photographs represent an emotional dialog between myself and the situation/environment I am encountering.