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Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm (2026) . Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen

€58.00
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The Europeans

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What happens when a crisis catches you so off guard that it makes you physically ill and deeply depressed? You experience the loss of the world as it once was. Psychologists call this ambiguous loss: the world still exists, but something essential seems to have been taken from you. Lawlessness, pollution, climate change and an economy relentlessly propelled by profit and growth can together awaken a profound sense of powerlessness, of mourning for something intangible that seems to be gone forever. Grief can spark anger and action, but also acceptance and resignation: let the storm rage. In the plastic sea, modern Europe reveals itself in all its nakedness.

In southern Spain lies Europe’s largest vegetable garden: an endless sea of plastic greenhouses, visible even from space. Thanks to abundant sunshine and efficient water use, it supplies cheap vegetables and fruit to our supermarkets. But behind this efficiency lie the exploitation of migrants, inhumane living conditions, and ecological devastation. How long will Europe tolerate exploitation and ecological ruin—all for the sake of cheap produce?

Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm is part of The Europeans; a portrait of modern Europe at a time when the continent is struggling. In this multi-year project, photographer Rob Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen travel from region to region and from theme to theme, creating a portrait of the European heartland in the 2020s.

Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm (2026) .  Rob Hornstra and  Arnold van Bruggen

Publisher: The Europeans
Paperback: 264pp + 32 pp insert
Dimensions: 230 x 275 x 22 mm
Bilingual: Spanish / English

8 Items
2026-05-18

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