Imagine you’re taking a stroll along a sandy swath of beach. All you see is aqua ocean for miles. Then, suddenly, you stumble upon a “river” running red with plastic trash. You’d certainly stop to wonder. That’s all part of artist Alejandro Durán’s master plan—to pique your curiosity and then swoop in with a healthy dose of reality.

If your sandy stroll happened to take place in picturesque Sian Ka’an, a biosphere reserve and UNESCO World Heritage site on the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, a red plastic river and many other surreal encounters could be a reality. A coconut tree shedding skittle-colored fruit? Yep. Toothbrushes growing like reeds? You got it. If any of these sights inspired you to