English / Punjabi edition

This is a story about the Black Country. Its history is grand and proud. This is where the foundations were laid for the industrial present. Socialism, social democracy and climate change were all born here. But today, the Black Country has been pushed to the margins of world history. Between the shops owned by migrants from around the world, empty buildings and theatres gape like black holes in rotting teeth. When everyone else moves away, migrants see opportunities for a new beginning. The Black Country has become a haven for those fleeing big cities and countries at war.

“When I came to work here, I saw that machines used to be made here, and not just in China.”
—Dale Jones, young blacksmith

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 ‘The Black Country’, somewhere in Europe.

Each region publication is accompanied by a numbered hardcover edition including signed print in an edition of 120 copies. More information here.

Specs

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