Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm
Photographer Rob Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen reveal the hidden world behind Europe's largest greenhouse complex in Almería. An impressive exhibition about the deplorable conditions in which countless migrants work on our food production, surrounded by a sea of plastic. Discover the stories that normally remain hidden from view.
The hidden world of Almería
In the vicinity of the southern Spanish tourist town of Almería, 3.5 billion kilos of vegetables and fruit are grown annually. What does the world behind this largest greenhouse complex in Europe look like? This autumn, photographer Rob Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen show at Kunsthal Rotterdam how countless migrants without residence status work under appalling conditions on food production for the European market. Their photos and stories are part of the large-scale project The Europeans, in which Hornstra and Van Bruggen portray contemporary Europe.
Living among the plastic
Plastic Sea, Perfect Storm shows how some 150,000 people work under poor conditions six days a week. Because the mercury regularly rises above fifty degrees during the day, the migrants often work at night. The vegetables and fruit they grow can be found in major Dutch supermarkets. The byproduct, about 6 billion kilos of plastic annually, ends up on a large scale at illegal dump sites – 400 such sites can be found in southern Spain alone.
All dates
From 3 October to 7 March 2027
- Price adult
- € 19,00
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