Body of Ore is a photoseries about the historical mining town Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia. Each photo reveals how the environment was artificially shaped to meet the needs of the city, without depicting people. Nature's struggle and the city's atmosphere are the main focus.
Broken Hill is a heritage-listed mining town in New South Wales with a long and symbolic history. A gigantic heap of mining waste material, known as Line of Lode, cuts through the city, strongly shaping its identity and history. It is visible from miles away and strongly influenced the town's identity.
The extraction, processing and transportation of ore were all aspects of great priority for the economic survival of the city. The consequences of large-scale mining include decades of lead poisoning, polluted drinking water, and sandstorms caused by forests cleared for mining. Although less intensive than in Merton’s time, mining is still undertaken in and around Broken Hill, but has become more effective and subtle due to the high level of technical progress. The city is also a tourist attraction for those interested in mining and offers a wealth of historical monuments, winding towers and cultural institutions.
The extraction, processing and transportation of ore were all aspects of great priority for the economic survival of the city. The consequences of large-scale mining include decades of lead poisoning, polluted drinking water, and sandstorms caused by forests cleared for mining. Although less intensive than in Merton’s time, mining is still undertaken in and around Broken Hill, but has become more effective and subtle due to the high level of technical progress. The city is also a tourist attraction for those interested in mining and offers a wealth of historical monuments, winding towers and cultural institutions.
In my series I depict the atmosphere and infrastructure of the city, which presents itself like a backdrop in the middle of the Australian outback. The city is now an example of the striking consequences of early mining and extensive human encroachment on nature. Each photograph reveals how the environment is artificially shaped to meet the needs of the city. Other photographs present the effects of these interventions. The perpetual struggle between civilisation and nature comes to the fore. Humanity recedes into the background as a pictorial motif, making the city seem abandoned. It is instead a nature shaped by humanity that becomes the protagonist.
The series war produced in cooperation with the Jewish Museum Frankfurt, Schleicher foundation and basis e.V., a gallery space in Frankfurt, where it was shown in the duo-exhibition "hit pay dirt" in July - August 2023.
Installation views from the exhibition "hit pay dirt" in 2024 at basis e.V. in Frankfurt
body of ore
body of ore
body of ore
body of ore
Rauminstallation "6:45"
Detail Rauminstallation "6:45"
Videoinstallation "never never"
Rauminstallation "6:45"
Detail Rauminstallation "6:45"
Videoinstallation "Line of Lode"
Installation Views from the exhibition "Junge Talente" at Kulturzentrum Franck-Haus, Marktheidenfeld, in 2025
