Tagebau Garzweiler is an areal in the south-east of Cologne where lignite mining is taking place. Finding yourself on one of the viewing platforms you will have a stunning view over the open-cast mine. The mine is still expanding but in some older parts it is possible to wander through this wide and surreal landscape.
Frederike Wetzels is a photographer and artist based in Cologne. She was born in 1988 in Itzehoe (Germany) and studied photography from 2007 - 2011 at the University of Applied Arts and Sciences Dortmund and the University of Plymouth (UK). In her artistic work she is mainly focusing on man-altered landscape, its underlying socio-economic conditions and the way the inhabitant lives in and perceives these spaces.