Joachim Brohm’s (*1955) photographic series Ruhr documents the German Ruhr area during its industrial decline from the late 1970s to the mid-80s. With this work Brohm became one of the first to engage with the issues raised by American photography – the landscape photography of the nineteenth century and the topographical photography from 1970 onwards – and transports them into a European context.

Ruhr is an integral link between USA and European photography and its special significance is revealed with this first complete monograph.