Max Brugger

one of the oldest mixed forests in europe between aachen and Cologne, the Hambacher Forst, has been cleared by the energy company RWE since 1978 in order to convert the lignite underneath into electricity. Not only the forest has to make way for coal-fired power generation, but also entire villages and their inhabitants. Since 2012, the forest has been occupied by climate activists and since then the small remaining piece gets a meaning that goes beyond the last hectares. In 2018, the RWE corporation and politicians close to them tried to evict the squatters from the forest on flimsy grounds. A conflict broke out that could not have been more complex.

The work is outlining various positions in the conflict, that is a symptom of a fundamental future issue. Between the presence of the society and its uncertain future, it is creating an image space, that is shifting within dystopia and hope.

Loaded with emotional strength, Hambacher Forst grew to a symbol of international climate protection. The discourse about power, future, past, justice and injustice, climate and the fate of RWE workers, forest occupants and local residents leaves marks of a fight that introduces various questions.