First place, The Beauty of Plants. “There are many stages of lotus growth on display at the Aquatic Gardens, but to come across twotwisted dancing stems of nelumbo nucifera was unexpected and quite magical”. (Photo by Kathleen Furey/The Guardian)

Visitors stand next to the artwork “No, 2021” by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan displayed at the gallery Gagosian during the Art Basel fair for Modern and contemporary art, in Basel, on June 17, 2025. The fair will open to the public from June 19 to June 22, 2025, featuring over 290 leading galleries and more than 4,000 artists from five continents. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

“Falling Back To Earth” promises to be both spectacular and meditative, and presents a beautiful, thought-provoking vision of our relationship with the earth and with each other. (Photo by Dave Hunt/EPA)

In Weronika Gęsicka’s unsettling images, American archive photography gets distorted into scenes that are both nightmarish yet somehow entirely plausible. Gęsicka is a guest artist at the Circulations festival for young European photographers, Paris, until 5 March. Here: “Untitled #5”. (Photo by Weronika Gęsicka/The Guardian)

Urban photographer Roman Robroek spent five years scouring the continent for the grandest examples of forgotten architectural beauty. Here: Watch your step on this Polish spiral staircase. (Photo by Roman Robroek/South West News Service)

A tow car for the children's “Grand Prix” races which take place in a parking lot in Livonia, Michigan a suburb of Detroit, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

Using body paint and a woodland like location, Gesine appears to have created a model to look just like a red panda, Dortmund, Germany, October, 2016. An artist brings animals to life using body paint and contorted models. At first glance, these images could be mistaken for portraits of wildlife in their natural habitat were created with paper and paint. However, they are actually the incredible works of illusion by talented body painter Gesine Marwedel, who paints models to creates realistic animals. (Photo by Gesine Marwedel/Barcroft Images)

“Krampus is a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Yule season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A participant dressed as the Krampus creature pulls a barrel of fire past onlookers during his search for delinquent children in Neustift im Stubaital. (Photo by Sean Gallup)