Rob Hornstra (born 1975) is a Dutch photographer and self-publisher of documentary work, particularly of areas of the former Soviet Union.

Early life Hornstra was born in Borne, Overijssel, Netherlands.

Career

Hornstra studied Social and Legal Services at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences from 1994 to 1998; for a year from summer 1996, he interned and then worked as a probation officer. From September 1998, he worked for over eight years as a host and bartender at Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. From 1999 to 2004, he studied photographic design at Utrecht School of the Arts.Profile (public), linkedin.com. Accessed 4 January 2011.

For his graduation project he spent one month in Russia photographing the lives of the first generation of young people growing up after the fall of communism. In the same year that he graduated he published this series as his first book, Communism and Cowgirls.

Since graduation Hornstra has combined editorial work for newspapers and magazines with more personal, longer-term documentary work in the Netherlands, Iceland, and the former Soviet Union. Hornstra considers himself a maker of photographic documentaries rather than a photographer; when not photographing for a particular purpose, he does not carry a camera.Jörg Colberg, "A conversation with Rob Hornstra", Conscientious, 10 November 2008. Accessed 4 January 2011. Further, he sees books as more important than exhibitions, and regards his own editing, publication and marketing of books of his photography as an important part of his work.

Hornstra prefers to work with film, in medium format or large format: [It] takes me quite a bit of time to set up my Mamiya medium-format camera and Horseman large-format camera. And that allows me to shoot more spontaneous pictures. Yes, it sounds contradictory. But snapshots aren't always so spontaneous by any means. When people have to pose for a long time, they eventually relax. Then you can really take nice pictures of them.Daniëlle Arets, "Deep Focus: Rob Hornstra, Roots of the Rúntur", Behind the Scene. Here at the Wayback Machine (archived on 5 September 2011).

In 2006, together with the art historian Femke Lutgerink, Hornstra started work on Fotodok,The organization always presents its name in full capitals: "FOTODOK". an Utrecht-based organization that arranges exhibitions and other events for documentary photography. Itself inspired by Fotohof in Salzburg, Fotodok hopes eventually to create an exhibition space for documentary photography in Utrecht. Fotodok was launched in 2008; Hornstra stepped down as creative director in September 2009.Fotodok. Accessed 4 January 2011.

Starting with his first collection, Communism and Cowgirls, Hornstra has published his own books. These skip forewords by other writers, biographical notes, ISBNs and the other trappings of conventionally published books; by taking advance orders and selling copies directly and also working through a small number of retailers, Hornstra is able to avoid normal distribution channels.Olivier Laurent, "Do it yourself", British Journal of Photography, 31 August 2010. Here at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 September 2010). The page uses Javascript to redirect elsewhere and so should be viewed with Javascript disabled.Johnny Simon, "Bucking the trend: Rob Hornstra finds success publishing photo books", The Photoletariat, 17 May 2010. Here at the Wayback Machine (archived on 22 May 2011; a pop-up makes this easier to read with Javascript disabled).

Together with the writer and filmmaker Arnold van Bruggen, in 2009 Hornstra started the Sochi Project, which over five years would document the area of Sochi (Krasnodar Krai, Russia) and the changes to it during the preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Hornstra and Van Bruggen express surprise that the site chosen for such a large winter event would be one so close to politically volatile areas such as Abkhazia and one that by Russian standards has exceptionally mild winters. Under the slogan slow journalism, the pair request donations from the public for the crowdfunding of a project whose timescale is impossible for the mass media.Reelika Lepp, "'Give us your money' – a new route for investigative journalism?", Media Kritiek, 10 November 2009. Archived here by the Wayback Machine on 23 August 2011. Accessed 24 December 2014. The stories Hornstra and Van Bruggen collected as part of the project have appeared in newspapers, photobooks and online over the course of the five-year period. The project culminated in the retrospective book An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus published by Aperture in 2013, and in 2014 an exhibition that toured Europe, America and Canada.

Hornstra and Van Bruggen have also created more democratic exhibitions, made entirely of newsprint, that can be shown on the walls of small galleries with no budget for framed prints or video installations: On the Other Side of the Mountains (2010), two copies of which create an exhibition;The Other Side of the Mountains can be viewed here (Issuu). Paris Photo Newsprint Exhibition (2012), with thirty photographs;Paris Photo Newsprint Exhibition is described here in the Indie Photo Library. and three versions of Billboard Sochi Singers, each containing the sheets to assemble either of two posters.A video illustration of how to create a poster is here (Vimeo).

Critic Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said "Whichever way you look at it, The Sochi Project is an incredible piece of journalism, both visual and written, and a glimpse of the medium's future."

In 2019, Hornstra and Van Bruggen announced the start of another long-term project: The Europeans, inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson's 1955 book The Europeans and prompted by the recent rise of voters and regimes dissatisfied with the European ideal.Gintarė Vasiliauskaitė, "Kūrėjų tikslas – fiksuoti besiskaldančią Europą Kūrėjų tikslas – fiksuoti besiskaldančią Europą", Kauno diena, 1 June 2019. Accessed 13 September 2019.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions, and pair exhibitions with Arnold van Bruggen

Communism and Cowgirls, Fotohof, Salzburg, 2005."Communism and Cowgirls", Fotohof. Accessed 4 January 2011. Communism and Cowgirls, De Balie, Amsterdam, 2006."Rob Hornstra — Communism and Cowgirls", De Balie, 25 February 2006. Here at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 September 2011). Roots of the Rúntur, National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavík, 2006."Event calendar: What / where / when", What's on in Reykjavík, March 2006 (vol. 23, issue no. 2), pp. 11–12. Available here (PDF) at heimur.is. Accessed 4 January 2011. 101 Billionaires and Other Stories, Flatland Gallery, Utrecht, 2009.Exhibition announcement for 101 Billionaires and Other Stories, Flatland Gallery. Accessed 4 January 2011. The Sochi Project, Mandeep Photography, Rome; Spazio Labo' – Centro di Fotografia, Bologna, 2010."The Sochi Project goes to Bologna September 21st – October 26th 2010", 3/3 studio di ricerca sull'immagine fotografica, 2010. Accessed 22 July 2014.Exhibition announcement for The Sochi Project, Flatland Gallery. Accessed 4 January 2011. Views from Sochi. Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff, February–March 2011."'Views from Sochi' by Rob Hornstra", Third Floor Gallery. Accessed 18 June 2014. Ivan's Cowshed and Putin's Games: A report on the current state of the Sochi Project. , Hamburg, April–May 2011.Exhibition notice, Freelens Gallery. Accessed 29 July 2011. On the other side of the mountains. International Centre of Photography, Kristiansund, Norway; Nordic Light International Festival of Photography, May 2011."Sochi prosjektet", Nordic Light International Festival of Photography. Here at the Wayback Machine (archived on 5 May 2011). Empty Land, Promised Land, Forbidden Land. Savignano Immagini. Galleria Vicini, Savignano sul Rubicone, September 2011."SI Fest 2011: Mostre," Savignano Immagini, 2011. Here at the Wayback Machine (archived on 14 November 2011). Empty Land, Promised Land, Forbidden Land. Foto8, London, March–April 2012."Rob Hornstra: Empty Land, Promised Land, Forbidden Land", Foto8, 11 March 2012. Accessed 20 July 2014. Empty Land, Promised Land, Forbidden Land. FEM, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, November–December 2012.Tirzah Schnater, "Lezing Rob Hornstra", Trajectum, 19 November 2012. Accessed 20 July 2014. The Secret History of Khava Gaisanova & The North Caucasus. Ti Pi Tin, London, May–June 2013.Untitled page, Ti Pi Tin (tumblr.com), Stoke Newington, London, 28 May 2013. Accessed 25 December 2014. 101 Billionaires and the Sochi Project. Browse Foto-Festival, Berlin, June–July 2013."Mapping a future for photojournalism", Browse Foto-Festival, 27 May 2013. Accessed 22 June 2014."101 Billionaires", Browse Foto-Festival. Accessed 22 June 2014."The Sochi Project", Browse Foto-Festival. Accessed 22 June 2014. The Sochi Project. FotoDoc Center for Documentary Photography, Sakharov Center, Moscow, October 2013.Christopher Brennan, "Denied Visas, Sochi Project Makes Debut", Moscow Times, 21 October 2013. Accessed 22 June 2014."'The Sochi Project': Amsterdam-Moskou", Nederland-Ruslandjaar. Accessed 22 June 2014.Ymke Frijters, "'The Sochi Project' toch tentoongesteld in Moskou", Digifoto Pro, 17 October 2013. Accessed 22 June 2014. The Sochi Project. Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam, October 2013."The Sochi Project", Stadsschouwburg. Accessed 22 June 2014. The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus. FotoMuseum Antwerp, November 2013 – March 2014.Genevieve Fussell, "The Sochi Project", New Yorker, 25 November 2013. Accessed 24 December 2014.Carolijn Domensino, "Expo. 'The Sochi Project' in het Fomu". Nieuwsblad, 31 October 2013. Accessed 25 December 2014. Gouden Jaren: Rob Hornstra's Rusland / Golden Years: Rob Hornstra's Russia. Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, December 2013 – March 2014."Golden Years / Rob Hornstra's Russia", Huis Marseille. Accessed 23 June 2014."Gouden jaren. Rob Hornstra's Rusland", Huis Marseille. Accessed 23 June 2014. The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus. DePaul Art Museum, DePaul University, Chicago, January–March 2014."The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus", DePaul University. Accessed 22 June 2014.Paul Biasco, "The Sochi Project Displays Troubling Side of Olympic City at DePaul Museum ", DNA Info, 17 January 2014. Accessed 22 June 2014. The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus. Fotohof, Salzburg, January–March 2014."Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen: The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus", Fotohof. Accessed 23 June 2014. The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus. Noorderlicht, Groningen, April–June 2014."Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen: The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus", Noorderlicht. Accessed 24 June 2014. The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus. Contact Photography Festival, Toronto, May 2014.Magdalyn Asimakis, "Contact Photography Festival, Toronto, 2014: Blog post two. The Sochi Project", Blackflash, 21 May 2014. Accessed 25 December 2014.Sophie Bertrand, "Toronto Contact 2014: Rob Hornstra", L'Œil de la photographie, 15 May 2014. Accessed 25 December 2014. Ballets Russes. Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam, May–June 2014."Women and Work: Rob Hornstra", Flatland Gallery. Accessed 24 June 2014. The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus. Aperture Foundation, New York City, May–July 2014."The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus", Aperture Foundation. Accessed 25 June 2014. The Sochi Project. PhotoIreland Festival, City Assembly House, Dublin, July 2014."The Sochi Project", PhotoIreland Festival. Accessed 31 July 2014.