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EUROPEAN COWBOY is a documentary project by photographer Bjorn Staps. It’s a photobook about identity, heroism, and freedom. It shows the lives of a close-knit community of young cowboys in Europe who practice "bull riding," part of the classic (American) rodeo and also the most dangerous sport in the world. During the summer months, these men travel through Belgium, France and Italy to pursue their dreams of freedom and heroism by participating in local rodeos. For most of them, then, bull riding is much more than a sport; it is part of a lifestyle in which they strive for a sincere life in which man and animal live together. In part, their lifestyle is also based on the ideal image of 'the Cowboy' as we collectively remember it from the mythical American West. In "European Cowboy," visual elements of this mythical cowboy we know from television series, movies and commercials are interwoven with the harsh realities of individual dreams, friendship and vulnerabilities of the real cowboys of Europe in their quest for personal forms of identity and freedom.

EUROPEAN COWBOY a 152-page Hardcover photobook is published by Lecturis, The Netherlands.
Order the book HERE.

The Book:

Photography and text: Bjorn Staps
Publisher: Lecturis
Design: -SYB-
Lithography: Sebastiaan Hanekroot, Colour & Books
Production: Jos Morree, Fine Books
Print and binding: Wilco Art Books

Hardcover: Golden ink, embossed title
152 pages (incl. 2 fold-out pages containing a hidden section)
Paper: Munken Lynx Rough 120 gr. Munken Lynx Rough 100 gr., Soporset 60 gr.
Dimensions: 240 mm x 320 mm
Language: English+French
Print run: 500 copies
Date: 2023
ISBN: 9789462264816

Price: € 50,00

Supported by: Het Cultuurfonds, Kunstloc Brabant