The Naval Base (English - Dutch)

This publication is part of The Europeans, a collaboration between writer Arnold van Bruggen and photographer Rob Hornstra. They previously worked together on The Sochi Project, which focused on the region around Sochi, the Russian resort that hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The Naval Base is a town built, bombed and rebuilt by the government. When the government invests in the navy, the city flourishes. When the government withdraws, the city fades away. There are many more like this naval town in Europe: cities or regions that are excessively dependent on the attention of the national government. A city where the population is unilaterally composed according to the demand of the largest employer.

The Europeans is a ten-year quest to find the contemporary European at a time when Europe is struggling. Growing nationalism and populism are reviving old ghosts. Authoritarian regimes are on the rise and the political dream of a united and peaceful Europe is proving increasingly fragile.

In the decade to 2030, Van Bruggen and Hornstra will document 20 regions in Europe. Each period spent in one of these regions culminates with an exhibition and the launch of a publication of the same name in the place where the work was made. This publication is the result of a period spent in a region entitled ‘Our Ancestral Home’, somewhere in Europe.

Publisher: The Europeans
Design: Kummer & Herrman
Softcover: 112 pp
Dimensions: 170 x 213 mm (6.7 x 8.4 in.)
Language: English / Dutch
Print run: 1,000 copies
Price: € 14.50

www.theeuropeans.fm