Every season, Rob Hornstra selects an image from his archive and makes it available as an exclusive handmade C-print (36 x 42 cm / 14.2 x 16.5 in). The number of buyers determines the print run, up to a maximum of 25. Once the season is over or print sold out, the image is no longer reprinted. This offer runs until 30 September 2022. Prints will be shipped in October 2022.

In early spring, a low-hanging sun casts its evening light on residential blocks in the centre of Sukhum, the capital of Abkhazia. In the distance, snowy peaks of Caucasus foothills can be seen. This tiny subtropical country on the Black Sea was once the Riviera of the Soviet Union. Sanatoriums and hotels stood shoulder to shoulder, like palaces for the proletariat. Stalin had no less than two dachas there.

But due to a horrific war just in the early nineties, in which Abkhazia broke away from Georgia, that idealised image came to an abrupt end. The capital Sukhum is literally shot to pieces. In the background, you can see the destroyed old parliament building, still standing strong after twenty years, as a grim tribute to the past. When we walk in one day, we find piles of old documents. From the roof, you have a great view over the Black Sea. Time seems to have stood still.

Title: Residential Block, Sukhum, Abkhazia, 2013
From the series: The Sochi Project
Original: Medium Format 6x7 negative film
Print technique: Analogue handmade C-print
Paper size: 36 x 42 cm (14.2 x 16.5 in) / Image 30 x 36 cm

In addition to the purchase of the Summer Print 2022, you can choose to have the same work immediately framed. Please click here for more information.