Tanja Engelberts at the House of Brandenburg-Prussian History, Germany
Solo exhibition Toxic Landscapes
On view from 7 July until 3 September, 2023
12 million tons of crude oil are processed annually in the Schwedt oil refinery. The traditional Uckermark company supplies Brandenburg, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with petrol, diesel and heating oil. For almost 60 years, crude oil came directly from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline, and the war embargo on Russian oil has been in effect since the beginning of 2023. The raw material now comes via the Rostock port from tankers from the Baltic and North Seas. Where is the end of the fossil age in sight?
The Netherlands has a long tradition of extracting oil from the North Sea. In “Toxic Landscapes” the Dutch artist Tanja Engelberts goes in search of the beginning and the end of oil production. In two video works she deals with the handling of the toxic remains of the energy industry in the North Sea. In “Decom,” a huge disused oil rig is dismantled by machinery, while in “Hollow,” the camera flies like a bird over a natural idyll of an island that turns out to be a man-made dump for toxic sludge.
House of Brandenburg-Prussian History (HBPG)
Am Neuen Markt 9,
14467 Potsdam, Germany