Capturing the juxtaposition between its vibrant beach culture and towering urban landscape, Rob Ball's photographs of this famous Spanish seaside town consider the promise of the perfect package holiday - and whether it has changed since it's conception in the fifties. From sunlit palm trees to shimmering neon lights, from pastel-coloured high rises to bright pink beach towels, from the greys and browns of backstreets to the pinks and reds of sunburn, this is a visual ode to all the colours of Benidorm and a testament to its irrepressible energy.
"Over 12 months, I explored Benidorm with an open mind, aware that it hosts more Spanish than English visitors. I was curious about what remained of the ‘Pan-European Holiday Utopia’ envisioned at its inception. Benidorm's reputation often precedes it, symbolizing (and drawing criticism for) mass tourism. Yet, nestled between the Puig Campana mountain and the Mediterranean Sea, the resort is full of the warmth of people enjoying themselves: the beach alive with tenderness and diversity, the bars with laughter and Sky Sports.
I made this work in solitude, using the camera to frame the strange and familiar; photography for me is a solo pursuit, a way to quietly distil the madness of life and crowds into a coherence. The pictures here contain bar names I’d seen before on my travels along the UK coastline; signs outside advertise tribute acts performing versions of Adele, Dua Lipa and Tom Jones. If you stay up late enough, you can see a racy version of the classic end-of-the-pier show. The ‘strip’ in Benidorm is confined and is what it is: the ultimate inauthentic experience, but it’s undertaken knowingly and with good humour. Walk one street back, and you’ll find a Spanish town underneath the high-rises built during that accelerated, unruly period of development under Franco.
The significance of accessible travel, and the package holiday in particular, is often understated. The annual holiday allowed the working and lower middle classes to branch out from Butlins and experience a new leisure reality, albeit with the comforts of home. While travel is, of course, a privilege, it should not be exclusively for the privileged. It’s something to look forward to, a time to be with the people we love, to feel the sun on our faces. Cultural enrichment might not be top of everyone’s list, but it takes all sorts, and that’s okay. For many, next year’s trip is already in the calendar. Then, back to work on Monday with a healthy glow."
Rob Ball 2025
About Rob:
Rob Ball is a Senior Lecturer, founder of Obsolete Studios, Director of The Burton Gallery and Director of The South East Archive of Seaside Photography.
Rob joined the Photography Programme as a Senior Lecturer in 2009. Graduating with a Masters Degree from The University of the Arts London in 2005, Rob makes work about coastal communities. As a practice-based researcher Rob’s output is predominantly visual, frequently realised in the form of exhibition and publication. Dreamlands was published by Dewi Lewis in 2015, Coney Island in 2017 and Funland: A Journey Through the British Seaside in 2019.
