Wall-to-wall Europe: the continent's manmade barriers in pictures - The Guardian

As barriers continue to rise up all over Europe, a new documentary photography exhibition investigates walls, fences and defence lines and the dramas on either side of them

Walls of Power: Man-made Barriers Throughout Europe is at Les Rencontres d’Arles, France, from 1 July to 25 August, 2019

Tue 16 Jul 2019 07.00 BST

The Wall of Europe, Spain, 2014Young Africans try to climb the double fence that separates Africa from Europe, near Beni Enza on the border of Spanish exclave MelillaPhotograph: Sergi Cámara

The Wall of Europe, Spain, 2014

Young Africans try to climb the double fence that separates Africa from Europe, near Beni Enza on the border of Spanish exclave Melilla

Photograph: Sergi Cámara

Roma Wall, Michalovce, Slovakia, 2010A group of Roma walk towards a concrete wall in Michalovce, eastern Slovakia. About 50 families on a housing estate have financed its erection to separate the local Roma camp from their residential areaPhotograph…

Roma Wall, Michalovce, Slovakia, 2010

A group of Roma walk towards a concrete wall in Michalovce, eastern Slovakia. About 50 families on a housing estate have financed its erection to separate the local Roma camp from their residential area

Photograph: Attila Balázs

The Fence of Gibraltar, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, 2016A British customs officer checks the hole made by tobacco smugglers in the border fence that separates the UK from SpainPhotograph: Arnau Bach

The Fence of Gibraltar, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, 2016

A British customs officer checks the hole made by tobacco smugglers in the border fence that separates the UK from Spain

Photograph: Arnau Bach

The Salpa Line, Finland, 2017Close to Virolahti, the Salpa Line is a fortified defence line built in 1940-41 to protect Finland from the entry of armoured tanks from Russia. It is 225km long and made of 350,000 stonesPhotograph: Rocco Rorandelli/Ter…

The Salpa Line, Finland, 2017

Close to Virolahti, the Salpa Line is a fortified defence line built in 1940-41 to protect Finland from the entry of armoured tanks from Russia. It is 225km long and made of 350,000 stones

Photograph: Rocco Rorandelli/TerraProject

Crossing Borders, Greece, 2015Refugees waiting in a queue for registration in the Moria camp on the island of LesbosPhotograph: István Bielik

Crossing Borders, Greece, 2015

Refugees waiting in a queue for registration in the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos

Photograph: István Bielik

The Wall, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2015Cyprus has been divided by the UN buffer zone, the 180km-long Green Line, since 1974. The houses and shops inside the zone became half ruins. After a nearly 30-year ban on crossings, the travel restrictions across the …

The Wall, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2015

Cyprus has been divided by the UN buffer zone, the 180km-long Green Line, since 1974. The houses and shops inside the zone became half ruins. After a nearly 30-year ban on crossings, the travel restrictions across the dividing line significantly eased in 2003

Photograph: Tijen Erol

Boundary between Ukraine and Russia, near Zhuravlevka, 2017In 2014, after the beginning of the conflict with the Russian-backed separatists, Ukraine announced that it would build a wall on the borderPhotograph: Michele Borzoni/TerraProject

Boundary between Ukraine and Russia, near Zhuravlevka, 2017

In 2014, after the beginning of the conflict with the Russian-backed separatists, Ukraine announced that it would build a wall on the border

Photograph: Michele Borzoni/TerraProject

From the Peacelines I series, North Belfast, 1994Photograph: Frankie Quinn

From the Peacelines I series, North Belfast, 1994

Photograph: Frankie Quinn