Zollverein Infrared IV

This photographic base was shot at "Zeche Zollverein" - an industrial monument of a former cole mine and UNESCO world heritage site in Essen, Germany - with a modified Infrared Camera.

Printed on Fine Art Hahnemühle Hemp Natural Line 290 g/m2.

Unframed. Including certificate of authenticity. Send in a tube.

100 x 66.7cm

Where Bricks Dream in Orange and the Past Flirts with the Future

If you thought you had seen the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein from every possible perspective, Thomas Haensgen hands you an infrared lens—figuratively, but that’s exactly how it feels. In Zollverein Infrared IV, he transforms an industrial setting into a surreal world where buildings seem to have flipped their color spectrum on a whim, while the sky hesitates in the background, unsure if it’s still allowed to be blue.

Nothing here remains ordinary. The orange sky conspires with the bricks in a silent pact that whispers, “Why always gray? Try a desert in the middle of the city.” The result is a surreal fusion of post-industrial romanticism and a psychedelic dream of color—almost like a Mark Rothko color field, but with a distinct Ruhr Valley edge.

More Than Just an Infrared Experiment

Haensgen could have simply documented the historical structures—brick severity, clean lines, a textbook industrial monument. Instead, he does the opposite. Zollverein Infrared IV disrupts our sense of familiarity and replaces it with a strange intimacy. The scene is recognizable—we know these buildings—but the color shift throws us off balance, much like waking up to find that your roommate has rearranged the entire apartment overnight.

The absurdity lies in the normality: The composition is factual and precise, as if lifted from an architectural textbook. Yet, the infrared filter twists this clarity into a playful exaggeration, where the walls suddenly glow with unexpected grace, and the shadows seem oddly cool. It’s an embrace of the unconventional, a deliberate “Why not?” that reminds us that art doesn’t just depict—it transforms.

A Tribute to the Ever-Changing Gaze

Haensgen’s work follows in the footsteps of modern industrial photography, recalling the detached documentation of Bernd and Hilla Becher. But while the Bechers pursued strict objectivity, Haensgen chooses surreal coloration. His approach resonates with the experimental color studies of Ernst Haas in the 1960s, except here, it’s the Ruhr region’s industrial legacy that takes center stage—reinvented through a post-apocalyptic palette.

The Unique Factor: A Gentle Push Toward Sensory Disorientation

What makes Zollverein Infrared IV so unique is the tension between familiar form and unexpected color. It’s like hearing a well-known song in a completely different key—still the same melody, but the emotion shifts. This shift is Haensgen’s signature: he forces us to look again, even when we think we already know everything.

That’s the real trick: Instead of retelling Zollverein’s history, he presents a place where the past bathes in an unearthly color frenzy. A reminder that history isn’t static—it reinvents itself with every new perspective.

With Zollverein Infrared IV, Thomas Haensgen proves that even the most iconic places can be rediscovered—if one dares to break the color spectrum and give the sky an unfamiliar hue. A work that leaves you standing in an alternate reality—one where industrial heritage and dreamlike vision have formed an unusual, yet mesmerizing alliance.