Is this Spain’s answer to Banksy? Swedish woman gives dog poo the golden treatment

A Torrevieja resident has found an unusual way to draw attention to one of the town’s less glamorous street problems: dog mess left on the pavement. Rather than simply complain about it, she is turning abandoned deposits into miniature works of art, complete with picture frames, museum-style labels and the occasional coat of gold paint. Her tongue-in-cheek exhibition, titled ‘La caca dorada’, or ”The Golden Poop”, has more than a little of Banksy about it.

But while Britain’s best-known anonymous street artist uses walls and public spaces to make political points, this artist is working with material that most people would rather avoid stepping in. The woman who is native to Sweden lives in a residential area of Torrevieja and does not speak Spanish. However, her son Petter, explained to to local news sources that his mother started the project as a protest against dog owners who leave their pets’ excrement on the street instead of picking it up.

A gallery on the pavement

A video of the project shows the woman walking along the pavements in sports clothes and a straw hat, apparently searching for her next acquisition. When she spots an abandoned dog mess, she places a pale green frame around it and adds a small explanatory label, just as visitors might find beside a painting in a gallery. Some of the exhibits are painted gold, adding another layer to the joke.

The labels turn the mess into works by an ‘anonymous artist’, announce a ‘new acquisition’ or give the collection a suitably grand-sounding name: ‘The Brown Period’. In one scene, the woman wears sunglasses and an identity card declaring her the museum director. Another sequence announces a ‘morning inspection’ as she heads out with a backpack to search for fresh material. It is a deliberately silly presentation of a very familiar annoyance. Anyone who has had to dodge dog mess on a pavement will understand the point, even if they might question the artistic merit of the exhibits.

The real cost of leaving it behind

Behind the joke is a clear message to dog owners. Torrevieja’s Urban Cleaning Ordinance requires owners to collect their animals’ faeces from public streets and dispose of them in the appropriate bins. It also sets rules for dog urine, including where animals should be allowed to relieve themselves and the use of suitable products to remove stains and smells. Failing to pick up dog mess or dilute urine is classed as a serious offence, with a fine of €2,000 for either breach.

The amount can be reduced to €1,000 when the conditions for acknowledging responsibility and making an early voluntary payment are met. The town has also tried a more practical approach. A specialised cleaning vehicle nicknamed the ‘motocaca’, fitted with a vacuum, has been operating since mid-2023 to remove dog mess from the streets. Its work has generally focused on the seafront promenades and central areas, according to Información.

Not quite Banksy, but hard to miss

The problem has become less common than it was several years ago, as residents have become more conscious of the need to clean up after their pets. But it remains an issue in some residential developments, where cleaning services may be less visible. Enforcement is not straightforward either. Policía Local must document the offence as it happens, while officers have other demands on their time.

That can make it difficult to issue fines, even when the problem is obvious to people living nearby. The Torrevieja ”artist” has found a way to make those overlooked deposits difficult to ignore around the neighbourhood. Banksy’s work can send crowds searching for a wall painting before it disappears; this exhibition is more likely to send passers-by looking for somewhere else to put their feet.