Maarten Boswijk

Photographer
Eventually, when the roads...
Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Nationality: Dutch
Biography: Maarten Boswijk  (b.1988, Rotterdam, NL) received his BDs in Documentary Photography from the Utrecht School of the Arts in 2012. His work consists of long-term social documentary projects in which he explores deviating communities. In an... MORE
Public Story
Eventually, when the roads...
Copyright Maarten Boswijk 2024
Updated Dec 2012
Topics Abandonment, Bulgaria, Documentary, Editorial, Landscape, Migration, Photography, Portraiture, Shabla

Eventually, when the roads get better

The touristic growth in Bulgaria seems to be at its peak. Even during the big economical recession the famous Sunny Beach resort, located on the southern part of the Black Sea coast, has continued to receive hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. While the southern region is known for its over-development since the start of the 21st century, 100km upwards the growth seems to have stalled and tourism is at an all-time low. The area's decline in population continues as the people are aging and the young are moving to the bigger cities.

Where the traces of unfinished hotels and holiday houses have left their marks on the landscape, the recent developments made room for a life that seems harder to find. The romantic ideal of living in a quiet village along the coast is set against the failed attempts and the exodus of a generation. The project sketches an image of a society that is about to disappear off the map. What will be left after the few inhabitants have insufficient reason to stay behind, and what will fill the traces of their departure?

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