From October 3, 2026, the exhibition Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm will be on view at Kunsthal Rotterdam. The press release is available for download via the link below (PDF).

In addition to our online store, Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm is available in a growing number of bookstores, first and foremost in the Netherlands and Spain, but also in surrounding countries. Since we handle distribution ourselves, it may take some time before the book is available in your country. Would you like the book to be stocked in your favorite bookstore? Please put us in touch with the purchasing manager so we can reach out. Are you a bookseller? Contact us about the discount we offer on wholesale purchases. We’d be happy to supply your store! This list will be frequently updated.

Netherlands
Athenaeum, Amsterdam
FOAM, Amsterdam
Huis Marseille, Amsterdam
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Fotomuseum, Den Haag
Van Gennep, Rotterdam
Kunsthal, Rotterdam
Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam
De Utrechtse Boekenbar, Utrecht
Broese, Utrecht

Europe
C/O Berlin
Estudio Milagros, Madrid
LA FABRICA, Madrid
Micamera, Milan
Le Bal, Paris
Leporello, Rome
kunst.buch.kiosk, Zürich

Online
Photobookstore.nl
Dispara
kAdeBoeken

Double page article in Dutch daily newspaper De Volkskrant: “Fotograaf Rob Hornstra en schrijver Arnold van Bruggen brachten het in beeld op de grondige wijze waarmee ze al een kleine twintig jaar naam maken. Sinds 2020 werkt het duo aan het project The Europeans: portretten van groepen Europeanen die worden geconfronteerd met thema’s als migratie, klimaatverandering en toenemend nationalisme. Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm is daarvan een treffend, huiveringwekkend voorbeeld. Misschien wel het meest veelzeggende citaat uit het boek: ‘Wat we hebben is beter dan in Palestina. Hier gaan we tenminste niet dood.’”

Jörg Colberg: “What makes the work so compelling is how seemingly effortlessly the larger story is being told while a large number of individuals from a large number of backgrounds get to tell part of their personal story. Without these details, the story would be too abstract, inviting the kinds of simple solutions and/or explanations that have fueled the rise of far-right parties.”

Buy a print before July 23, 2026 at a discounted price and help us make our exhibition at the Kunsthal possible

From 3 October 2026 through 7 March 2027, our latest work, Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm, will be on view at the Kunsthal Rotterdam. For weeks now, we’ve been busy sketching and discussing the exhibition. We want to create an exhibition that resonates: an important European story, told through museum-quality photographic works. Whereas in the book the photography primarily serves the story, in the exhibition it is the power of the images that takes centre stage.

This exhibition is especially significant to us. Not only because the Kunsthal attracts a large and diverse audience, but also because we’ve seen how deeply this subject resonates. The story about the darker side of Europe’s fruit and vegetable production evokes strong emotions. For example, this Instagram post following my interview on Bureau Buitenland immediately went viral and sparked a wide range of intense reactions.

The exhibition will ultimately span more than 100 metres of wall. After requesting production quotes based on our initial proposal, we had to go straight back to the drawing board. We discovered that we had been too ambitious, both in terms of quantity and quality, given the available budget. This was followed by negotiations and inventive production solutions. And yes, we were forced to remove several works from the exhibition. The alternative—maintaining the original scale while compromising too much on quality—was simply not an option. I’ve made that mistake before, and always regretted it.

We’re almost there. But to realise the exhibition the way we envision it, we’re still €4,000 short. We’ve reached the limit: us, the Kunsthal, and our suppliers alike. That’s why we’re asking for your help.

For a limited time, we’re offering a special opportunity. You can purchase a framed print of your choice from The Europeans, measuring 65 × 80 cm, for €1,275 including VAT. That’s at least €750 below the regular gallery price, depending on the edition number. This price is only possible because we’re producing all the frames for the exhibition in one batch, significantly reducing production costs.

All works from The Europeans in this size—framed and finished with UV-protective Art Glass—are produced in a maximum edition of five.

So, do you care about art and socially relevant stories? Have you been considering purchasing a work from The Europeans for some time? Or both? Then this is the moment.

With your purchase, you’ll help us realise this exhibition as we envision it: meaningful, visually compelling, and with the impact this story deserves.

Interested? Send me an email before July 23, 2026 to europeans@robhornstra.com.

Are you in Madrid during the opening of Photo España? Please join us for the festive book launch and talk of Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm during the Art Book Festival at Estudio Milagros. Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 1 PM. Address: C. de Sebastián Elcano, 38, 28012 Madrid.

Very proud to be part of the group exhibition Volver a imaginar during Photo España at Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Featuring presentations by some of my favorite Spanish (and non-Spanish) colleagues Aleix Plademunt, Txema Salvans, Anoek Steketee, Javier Arboledas, Jon Gorospe, Eduardo Nave, Juan Couder, Rafael Trapiello, Lurdes Basolí, Ira Lombardía, Arguiñe Escandón, and Yann Gross. Opening on June 4, 2026. Big thanks to Embajada del Reino de los Países Bajos en España.

From the jury report: In Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm—primarily created in Spain—Rob Hornstra reveals how the ineradicable global plague of plastic and the vulnerability of nature are intricately intertwined. The jury calls the sight of colorful plastic waste adorning plants like flowers nothing short of absurd. It is a condemnation of the reckless use of plastics in products and packaging: a serious issue, conveyed through a visual narrative that remains light in tone.

Photographed with unwavering stylistic consistency, the individual images reinforce one another, while some are so powerful they stand firmly on their own. Hornstra succeeds in capturing a plastic flower as overwhelmingly beautiful as nature itself can be.

The selected works will be on display during the SO’26 exhibition at Melkweg Expo, as well as on billboards across Amsterdam city center.

On May 7, 2026 at 4 pm, we invite you to join our book launch at Domo - Home for international cultural collaboration in Amsterdam. Domo also hosts a small pop-up presentation of Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm between April 17, 2026 and May 13, 2026. The venue will be open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 13:00h to 17:30h. Please note: The presentation will not open on Wednesday 22 April. Address: Nieuwe Herengracht 14, 1018 EH Amsterdam

The pre-sale of our upcoming book has started. We aim to start shipping as of May 11, 2026. Please check the link for more information and example spreads from the book.

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.

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.