Monuments Postcards, Alan Gignoux and Chloe Juno

Opencast coal mining has led to the destruction of hundreds of German villages over the last century. Although Germany has promised to phase out coal by 2038, extraction continues and the future of several villages hangs in the balance.  Combining Alan Gignoux’s photographs of abandoned houses and Chloe Juno’s images of the personal belongings left behind by departing families, Monuments documents and commemorates communities in North-Rhine Westphalia earmarked for demolition.

The two photographers take different approaches to highlighting the erasure of shared history and collective memory.  Gignoux’s images document the destruction of houses, gardens, schools, shops, churches, businesses, roads, the infrastructure of entire communities, while Juno’s photographs show us personal objects that recall individual lives.

Printed by Alan Gignoux

210 × 150 mm