Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

Dutch artist Suzan Drummen‘s large-scale floor installations are mesmerizing and complex circular patterns made out of mirrors and brightly colored glass. The fractal-like arrangements feature ornate and elaborate circles growing exponentially out of each other and vibrant rings of spiraling colors winding into the surface of the floor. They are composed of crystals, chromed metal, precious stones, mirrors and optical glass. A sensory experience, and visually stimulating, the glittering installations play with the architecture of the space — climbing up walls and sweeping across the surfaces — examining the idea of illusion and optical effects.

These stunning images show the phwoar-some power of some of Americas most extreme weather. Camille Seaman’s wondrous work features huge super cells, crashing lightning and gale-force winds. The roaming photographer has chased storms across the US from Iowa to Wyoming and from Minnesota to Texas. Her favorite places to chase are Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota – notorious hotspots for spectacular storms. Here: Supercell in Minnesota, near Browerville, Minnesota in 2014. (Photo by Camille Seaman/Caters News)

A man and his dog wade through a flooded road in Vila Velha, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, on December 27, 2013. At least 44 people have died and more than 60,000 have been left homeless following torrential rains over the past few weeks in southeast Brazil. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

Residents wade across floodwaters after a week typhoon Koppu battered Calumpit town, Bulacan province, north of Manila October 24, 2015. Typhoon Koppu, that dumped heavy rains on the northern Philippines, killing 58 people as it flattened houses and destroyed crops, was petering out on Wednesday, weather officials said. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

A masked dancer performs as part of “Devi Pyankha” (Devi Dance) to mark the beginning of the Indra Jatra Festival in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 15, 2021. Nepali celebrate the Indra Jatra festival to worship “Indra”, the god of rain and to mark the end of monsoon season. (Photo by Sunil Sharma/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Revellers shield themselves as they celebrate in the rain near Stonehenge stone circle, despite official Summer Solstice celebrations being cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), near Amesbury, Britain, June 21, 2020. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A couple share a kiss at the “Purple Rain” installation at the Lycée Jacques-Decour on August 02, 2020 in Paris, France. Part of Festival Paris l'Eté, the installation by Pierre Ardouvin is a tribute to the song by Prince and allows visitors to role play while equipped with umbrellas and accompanied by the song. (Photo by Kiran Ridley/Getty Images)