In Toxic (2022 – ongoing) subject and object merge, allowing what is photographed to infiltrate and alter the image. After capturing the boulders used as memorial stones for the excavated or buried villages in Lusatia in her series Kohle (2017), Schuurman continued her research in the region and on the effects of open-pit lignite mining on the landscape. The mining industry left deep craters in the natural environment. Often these abysses are filled with water to create opportunities for future tourism. The water is currently still too acidic to sustain life. Schuurman took polaroids of the surface of these man-made toxic lakes and let the image develop inside the water. The different PH levels of the water, interacting with the acids of the Polaroids themselves, allowed a variety of shapes and colors to emerge: A visual manifestation of the un-naturalness of water. Presented in plexiglass boxes, Schuurman emphasizes the „untouchability“ of her source material.
(Excerpt text Julie Gaspard)