The Sochi Project: Rob Hornstra & Arnold van Bruggen

Rob Hornstra is a Dutch photographer and self-publisher of documentary work, particularly of areas of the former Soviet Union.

Russia – 

Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen have been working together since 2009 to tell the story of Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the surrounding regions. They have returned repeatedly to this region as committed practitioners of “slow journalism,” establishing a solid foundation of research on and engagement with this small yet incredibly complicated place before it finds itself in the glare of international media attention. As Van Bruggen writes, “Never before have the Olympic Games been held in a region that contrasts more strongly with the glamour of the event than Sochi. Just twenty kilometres away is the conflict zone Abkhazia. To the east the Caucasus Mountains stretch into obscure and impoverished republics such as North Ossetia and Chechnya.”

Hornstra’s photographic approach combines the best of documentary storytelling with contemporary portraiture, found photographs, and other visual elements collected over the course of their travels. The highlights and key elements of this extensive effort are brought together for the first time in An Atlas Of War And Tourism In The Caucasus, designed by Kummer & Herrman, offering alternative perspectives and in-depth reporting on this remarkable region, the site of the most expensive Olympic Games, which sits at the combustible crossroads of war, tourism, and history.

 

The Sochi ProjectPhotography by Rob Hornstra  & Written by Arnold van Bruggen 

 

Sochi_Cover

 

“Hornstra’s approach combines documentary storytelling with contemporary portraiture, found photographs and other visual elements collected during their travels. Since the beginning of the authors’ collaboration, The Sochi Project has been released via installments in book form and online. The highlights are brought together for the first time in this volume. ” – Markus Schaden on ‘The Sochi Project’

 

Related Posts

Rafal Milach: The Winners

Belarus –  ‘The Winners’ published by GOST, is dedicated to winners of various state and local competitions held between 2010-2013 …

Koodankulam : In My Backyard – Amirtharaj Stephen

India – ‘Colorful Guizhou’, the 6th Photo China Original International Photographic Exhibition opened in the Guizhou Province of China on …

Ernesto Bazan : A Sicilian Revelation

Mexico – With an eclectic body of enriching, honest and deeply committed work, one can only admire the talent that …

Douglas Stockdale on Laia Abril “The Epilogue”

Laia Abril (b. 1986 Barcelona, Spain, currently resides in NYC and Barcelona) continues to develop narratives that probe identity issues …

Douglas Stockdale on Renee Jacobs PARIS

USA –  THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT Renee Jacobs (American, born 1962, Philadelphia, PA, resides in Los Angeles, CA) recent …

Veronica Fieiras: The Disappeared

Spain – Photography will never be able to run away from the memory’s territory and its stigma This is an …

Anna Fox: ‘Resort 2’ – British Adult Parties and a Photographic Carnival

United Kingdom –  For two years British photographer Photography Feature –  Anna Fox documented holiday culture at the iconic Butlin’s …

Tomasz Lazar: Theater of Life

Poland – In Ancient Greece people were believed to be only actors, playing roles written by powerful gods. Nowadays, mass …

Marilene Coolens Lisa De Boeck

Marilène Coolens & Lisa De Boeck: “The Umbilical Vein” – Mother Photographs Her Daughter For 13 Years

Belgium – For The Umbilical Vein, photography team Memymom, composed of mother Marilène Coolens and daughter Lisa De Boeck, unearth a collection …