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Under the cobblestone, the beach
February 2021 - ongoing

“Under the cobblestone, the beach” is made up of a series of photographs of laminated beaches that I've hidden under cobblestones found in the streets of different cities of the world. I've painted all the tiles that are part of this intervention blue so that whoever wants to, can find them by lifting them and removing the beach from underneath (or simply take a look at it, and remember that in the city you can also find small paradises...).

I've recorded the entire process on video to document the creation of this project.


“A series of modified cobblestones mark the rhythm of this intervention, which aims to reinterpret the way in which pedestrians understand a city to which they're already accustomed. Pedestrians inadvertently become part of the work, forced to reflect about the urban landscape that surrounds them.

Photographs of different beaches are hidden under a selection of tiles. Idyllic places that become a symbol of relaxation, tranquility, and vacations for urbanites who're used to the hustle and bustle of the city.

In order to differentiate the cobblestones that are part of the work, I've painted them blue. This way, the pedestrian who comes across one of these tiles can play to lift the street and discover tourists spending the summer in virgin coves and cliffs full of trees.


Those of us who live in big cities have lost the connection with the countryside, the vegetation, the wild beat of nature. Our environment is so predictable that it becomes the background movie of our lives. This is a work that makes us reflect on the routine, the everyday. Those streets that we know by heart and kick over and over again, can hide wonders yet to be discovered. The improvised settings formed by the sand and the paintings create a temporary capsule that evokes life beyond the asphalt and reminds us that it's possible to bring paradise, and everything that this idea provokes in us, to the city.

The passerby is forced to reflect on his surroundings when he happens to find one of these subtly modified pieces of street furniture. The landscape of pollution and cement suddenly becomes a world of new possibilities. The routine of walking over and over the same streets is reinterpreted to give way to a new conception of the city.

It's a review of the landscape, a new way of seeing what we have seen a million times. Under each tile is a new paradise, under each cobblestone there may be a beach.” 


Here you have the GPS coordinates of all the beaches that I've hidden under cobblestones for now. I will update this post as I expand the work:

(40.4256994, -3.7067227)

(40.4251905, -3.7066901)

(40.4274372, -3.7070620)

(40.2919936, -3.7476820)

(42.0749381, 1.8700827) Third floor of “Konvent Puntzero”, in the residency’s kitchen.