Artist Talk: Lupin, fougère, genêt

On 26 November 2024 at Framer Framed, artist and lecturer Susanne Kriemann presents the latest work from her photographic project Lupin, fougère, genêt, centred on the effects of uranium mining. Building upon her previous project Pechblende, which comprises works on uranium mining in East Germany, Kriemann’s new work shifts focus to the Limousin region in France.

The title Lupin, fougère, genêt (French for ‘lupine, fern, gorse’) refers to three plants that thrive in Limousin, an area that was the centre of uranium extraction in France during the mid to late twentieth century. When mining activities ceased in the 1980s and 1990s, former mines were flooded, creating artificial lakes that dot the landscape. These waters and surrounding soils still carry traces of radioactive contamination.

The plants in and around these lakes have absorbed radioactive elements from the environment. They metabolise these contaminants and sometimes even flourish, but they also stand as living witnesses to the lingering toxic legacy of uranium extraction. In her talk, Susanne Kriemann will share her journey of artistic research in this overlooked nuclear landscape, focusing on how these plants act as bearers of radioactive memory and serve as subjects in her photographic work.

The talk is organised by curator and researcher Kyveli Mavrokordopoulou. It is part of, and supported by, the Environmental Humanities Centre at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The event is presented in partnership with Sonic Acts.