Stratification

Since the 16th century, Lower Silesia has been an area of extensive search for rare ores and minerals. The rich deposits of different natural resources has turned the region into a place of intensive and ceaseless exploitation, as evidenced by numerous mines and pits. This work has led to the devastation of certain areas, e.g. Miedzianka.

Cross-sections of drifts where coal or uranium is mined constitute an interesting example of documentation whose visual form also conveys information about the practice of digging deep inside the earth in order to extract desired substances and fill in the resulting empty spaces with external materials. Thus thousands of tonnes of steel, timber and different building materials are deposited underground, becoming the germ of new ores that will testify to the activeness of human civilization for millions of years.

photo by Małgorzata Kujda