Acrylic on Canvas 2012 119 x 183 cm
This depicts an open lignite mine in Poland, captured by aerial photography. Lignite-fired power stations generate more than 30% of the country’s power. Lignite is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat. It contains more moisture than coal, but when dry, crumbles easily. Lignite requires special care in storage, is uneconomical to transport over long distances and is subject to spontaneous combustion. It is geologically young and the beds lie close to the surface and are of great thickness, sometimes greater than 100 feet – they are easily worked and cost of production is low. Jet is a hardened, gem-like form of lignite.
