TAKING ACTION

In the early 80s, Germany was in shock: acid rain was devastating its forests and polluting its lakes and groundwater. Barbara and Michael Leisgen created Pink Depression in 1982. The work is a set of photographs exploring the ties between humans and nature by placing the human body in a natural setting and using this medium to play on light. The creation comprises 9 identical photographs of Barbara dressed in red trousers and a pink sweater, floating face down in polluted water. The splash of red suggests a romantic heroine come to a tragic end, but this plunge into a nature dying at the hands of reckless human activity is a cry of despair.