A sun-soaked reverie or a neon-lit fever dream? The answer lies somewhere in between the high-rise pastels and sunburnt shoulders of Benidorm.
In his new publication for Hoxton Mini Press, photographer Rob Ball takes readers on a journey through the Spanish coastal city, a love letter of sorts to the changing face of mass tourism. Across a year of exploration, Ball turned his lens to the city’s contradictions: the endless promise of the perfect package holiday versus the reality of sun-faded dreams. From shimmering golden beaches to the saturated glow of bar signs, from the warmth of holidaymakers basking in nostalgia to the inescapable stamp of commercialisation, his images evoke both tenderness and irony, warmth and detachment.
A city situated between mountain and sea, Benidorm has long been the poster child for the ‘pan-European holiday utopia,’ a vision first conceived in the 1950s. Today, it’s a cultural paradox, a bustling resort where package-deal escapism rubs shoulders with the cold steel and glass of rampant development. Yet, Ball finds beauty in the contrast. His book imbues irrepressible energy, from pink beach towels stark against sun-bleached promenades to crimson sunburn set against the promenades soft neon glow. It’s a visual diary of a place caught between then and now, a celebration of holiday culture and the people who keep its dream alive.
With previous works for Hoxton Mini Press including Coney Island, Dreamlands, and Funland, Ball has long been fascinated by nostalgia and tourism, this latest body of work continuing that tradition, offering a poignant yet humorous look at a town whose reputation often precedes it, but whose heart beats with the laughter of sun-drunk holidaymakers and the low hum of Sky Sports in a beachfront bar.
A 112-page hardback with cloth back and spine and printed on final art paper, Benidorm is available now priced £35. Gently humorous photos tinged with melancholy, soaring skyscrapers, seas of parasols and warm summer hues … Benidorm has never looked so good.
Benidorm Photography © Rob Ball.
