Siebe Swart - Land of Air and Water

The photographer's new series is dedicated to the system of Dutch waterworks, portrayed from a bird's eye perspective. For the last few years, he has photographed the Netherlands' struggles with rising water from a helicopter.

The series documents the reinforcement and streamlining of the country's rivers, the ongoing development of the huge Delta Works and the maintenance and management of the Dutch coast. What is often invisible from the ground is made obvious when seen from the air: the never-ending battle with water has left scars all over the Netherlands.

Old dike breaches; enclosed river arms, reopened to comply with the newest water management insights; newly and purposefully inundated areas; artificial peninsulas of sand and rubble - the Dutch landscape is visibly scarred everywhere. In no other country in the world is the historic struggle against encroaching water so clearly and emphatically visible from the air.