Deponie

For decades, toxic waste from West Germany was dumped at the Ihlenberg dumpsite near Lübeck. It is still in service and it is still unclear today whether the toxic substances have been secured or whether the regional groundwater could be affected by contamination. In Tobias Kruse's series Deponie, the dump is emblematic of the physical but also social traces left by the Third Reich, the GDR and reunification in his homeland. This history remains visible to the present day. The distanced black-and-white photographs of people, landscape and architecture condense into a sombre overall picture that triggers unease. In their suggestive composition, they refer to burdens of  the past that fuel lasting mistrust of politics and the establishment among many citizens and provide a breeding ground for populist and extremist movements.