The work of Manuel Álvarez Diestro (Santander, 1972) proposes meditating on the place that man occupies on earth, and reflects the disastrous consequences of human activity, but also the beauty underlying the transformed landscapes. Diestro has carried out photographic series showing the density in Hong Kong, the traces of war in Beirut, and the dead-end roads of Oman. Though currently based in London, the photographer lived four years in Egypt, where he witnessed the growth of new urban developments. The New Cairo series is devoted to the huge satellite city that is being built outside Cairo, and stages the conquest of the desert by these new constructions.

Images in this feature are published by courtesy of the photographer.[+]