For photographer Mark Redondo, the many abandoned developments littered throughout Spain aren’t just symbols of economic troubles, but a failure to learn from our mistakes. Even in the midst of a housing crisis, Spain has an incredible 3.4 million deserted houses, and many of them have stood empty since the collapse of the country’s real estate industry in 2007. Ten years ago, Redondo set out to photograph some of these crumbling structures from the ground; now, drone photography has now enabled him to capture their true scale, giving us a look at their hidden shapes, patterns and textures in a whole new way.

The series, entitled ‘Sand Castles (Part II),’ depicts these structures stark against the dry Spanish landscape, often only half-completed. The contrast between the abandoned developments and their natural surroundings is particularly striking. Redondo notes that while this colossal waste of resources was in the news for a while, the abandonments have since been largely forgotten. That doesn’t mean they’ve gone away.

“There is definitely an apocalyptic feeling to it, it is as if you are the last inhabitant in the world,” he says in an interview with the British Journal of Photography. “The sites are completely deserted and the locations are difficult to reach so, unless you are determined to go there, most people don’t ever see them. A lot of construction material, electric parts, sewage covers and copper has been stolen. There are rabbits everywhere.”

“It is important to understand that this is not an isolated problem; it is something that has happened systematically across Spain. We need to ask why this is still happening and how we are going to fix the problem.”

Redondo read news reports on abandonments and searched for updates to find the developments, and used Google Earth to identify the ones that look most dramatic by air. He used a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone to take photos for the project, which won this year’s DJI Drone Photography award.

Marking the 400th anniversary of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, a grassy circle measuring over 35,000 square feet was rolled out to create seating space for over 100,000 visitors across a four-day celebration.

The famous European square is framed by historic rectilinear architecture, beautiful in itself, but by adding a fresh layer of greenery, artist SpY provided space for locals and tourists to relax and mingle.

From above, the green dot stands out against its reddish surroundings, while, on the ground, it becomes not just a frame for interaction but also a point of conversation about local history.

Like much of SpY’s work, the project is made to be both interactive but also evocative, spreading naturally on social media and sparking conversations both on-site and abroad, leaving a lasting impression both online and in person.

And that function for which it was designed proved not just theoretical — as images of the actual four-day installation show, people gravitated naturally toward the grass, walking across and sitting down in groups on it.

Meanwhile, given the positive reaction to this piece, there is a rumor that the green circle might be rolled out again in Paris or some other European location.

The project also brings to mind another piece done by SpY years ago — a green circle on a building facade, created by cutting away vines.

Best known for his vivid geometric murals full of fantastical animals, which brighten up everything from derelict churches to fleets of freighters, street artist Okuda San Miguel has crafted a massive 3D sculptural centerpiece for the annual Fallas celebration in Valencia, Spain. The 100-foot-tall cardboard sculpture stood for just four days before it was ritualistically burned, along with the rest of the art created for the festival, in a celebration of ephemeral human achievements.

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The festival, honoring Saint Joseph, sees three million visitors descend upon a city of one million to dance, celebrate the beginning of Spring, drink sangria in the streets and watch a bunch of things burn. Among the sculptural ‘sacrifices’ are traditionally a series of giant ‘ninots’ (puppets or dolls) including satirical figures. This year, it was Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. Just before midnight on ‘La Crema,’ the last day of the festival, the crowds begin changing and the streetlights are turned off before fireworks explode and everything is set ablaze.

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Asked by El Periodico before the festival whether he was ready to see the piece burn, Okuda said, “No I’m not. I think I’m going to have a sentimental craze, because it’s the most amazing piece I’ve done in 3D and I’m freaking out with every piece that comes out. I’m going to cry. With the cool thing that we have built, I’m sure I will not understand very well that it’s going to burn, but I think the millions of people who are around this and who have such a strong feeling will make me understand.”

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“This is one of the great traditional festivals of Spain because, to start, it’s art, it’s not just bulls running and I do not know what. Fallas are constructions that artisans make for a year and with a history of more than a century. I find it incredible.”

Greek gods and other figures from antiquity tower over a very different world from the one in which they were born, entwined with contemporary graffiti on building facades and other urban surfaces across the globe. The style of PichiAvo, a Spanish street art duo composed of individuals nicknamed Pichi and Avo, is undeniably distinctive, taking imagery usually associated with static, immobile stone statues and enlivening it with a sense of movement and lots of vivid color.

Sometimes, these figures are playfully interacting with the imagery around them; at other times, they’re translucent against their colorful backdrops, almost like ghosts temporarily visiting our realm and checking out what we’ve done with the place. The duo began working together in 2007, painting their creations all over the streets of Spain. Since then, their work has only become more complex.

They were particularly prolific in 2016, splashing a cherub across a five-story apartment building in Denmark and completing a mural of Prometheus in Murcia, Spain for the Festival Arte Urban Mar Minor. They also painted a pair of Greek figures on the side of an abandoned factory building in Valencia, Spain. For the latter, they tried some new techniques, including using spray paint for the background and mixing it with acrylic paint to create the statues.

The duo recently did an interview with Global Street Art, explaining how their styles work together and why they choose these particular visuals.

“We started our style thinking we should bring everything we know about art together and adding graffiti to help bring classical art back to life. The best way we could think of to do this was by working with classical sculpture, sculptures that today are white but people don’t realise they used to be covered in paint, so our painting the figures with the graffiti is our small tribute to the classical sculptures that have marked many historical recognised artists.”

Enabling the visually impaired to quite literally put their hands on priceless artworks, this unique exhibition allows blind people to experience works like the Mona Lisa for the first time. An initial collection of six such works is on display through June at a gallery in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.

The innovative printing studio behind these complex displays, Estudios Durero, starts with high-resolution photographs of original works then reworks them, adding texture and volume in an advanced relief printing process.

Over the course of 40 hours, special inks are layered on top of flat surfaces. The resulting pieces are then chemically treated to that raise sections of the reprinted paintings. In a final stage, the colors are layered on top of this 3D hybrid to make them look like the originals.

Each piece is different, requiring a nuanced and calculated approach to crafting individually appropriate solutions that reflect elements of artistic intent and style in this new feel-oriented format.

Braille text and audio guides accompany each piece, walking visitors through a multimedia experience culminating in the touching of each work (photos by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez).