Cristina Iglesias turns derelict lighthouse into staggering geological sculpture
Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias has transformed a lighthouse on Donostia-San Sebastián’s Santa Clara Island into a kinetic water sculpture
![Cristina Iglesias, Hondolea (Marine Abyss), a work of public art inside a lighthouse on Santa Clara Island](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3f4CsseB83zhrmxdB277C5-415-80.jpg)
The wild waters of the Basque coast, a lighthouse in critical condition, the peculiar geology of Santa Clara Island: these are ambitious ingredients for a sculptural recipe, but one that Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias (who won the 2020 Royal Academy Architecture Prize) has combined to staggering effect.
For the location of Hondolea (Marine Abyss), Iglesias chose a lighthouse on the cusp of dereliction in which she created vertiginous sculptural environment deep in the island’s rock. Now open to the public, the sculpture is set to become part art, part site of pilgrimage – a recurring combination in Iglesias’ work.
Top: The Lighthouse of Santa Clara Island , Above: Santa Clara Island
Found everywhere from inner cities to remote landscapes, the artist's horizontal fountains, submerged rooms and tropical mazes bring together literature, architecture, geology and botany to create immersive spaces that meditate on the relationship between humans, nature and how the two intersect.
Hondolea is no exception, but what can intrepid visitors expect? Iglesias has excavated the entire floor of the lighthouse. Below, cascading rock-like formations in bronze resemble the geology of the bay and surrounding coastline. Rhythmic, mesmerising water flows create the illusion of crashing waves. Aside from its artistic merits, the work is a feat of engineering and logistics, using a complex system of hydraulic machinery.
From its conception, Iglesias had planned to donate Hondolea to Donostia-San Sebastián and has worked closely with the City Hall over the last four years to create a striking work that incorporates the distinctive geology of the Basque coast and its rough waters. Iglesias explained on Instagram: ‘The piece is a place that represents the remoteness within the city, a meeting point for citizens to observe, think and reflect on nature and the importance of its conservation.’
In conjunction with the Donostia-San Sebastián commission, a new book, Liquid Sculpture: The Public Art of Cristina Iglesias, edited by Iwona Blazwick and Richard Noble, has been published by Hatje Cantz. The text sees an international roster of curators, art critics, philosophers, architects and scientists weigh in on the social and ecological potential of art in urban and rural space, informed by the themes in Iglesias’ work.
Top: Estancias Sumergidas, 2010, reinforced concrete with a neutral PH; Above: Forgotten Streams, (South-West Side), 2017, bronze, stone, hydraulic mechanism and water. Both feature in the book Liquid Sculpture: The Public Art of Cristina Iglesias, published by Hatje Cantz
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Yoshitomo Nara’s skittish universe takes over the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum
‘Yoshitomo Nara’ at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum is the first major European retrospective to explore four decades of the Japanese artist’s oeuvre
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Suburbia: American dream or residential nightmare, asks multidisciplinary show
‘Suburbia. Building the American Dream’ digs deep into the archetypes, rise and realities of suburban living, at Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhood
Tschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
By Millen Brown-Ewens Published
-
Ibiza is the new hotspot for contemporary art
Gathering Ibiza opens, a Balearic outpost of the London gallery, as founder Alex Flick hails the island’s emerging contemporary art scene
By Emily Steer Published
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in Sweden
Wanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Pino Pascali’s brief and brilliant life celebrated at Fondazione Prada
Milan’s Fondazione Prada honours Italian artist Pino Pascali, dedicating four of its expansive main show spaces to an exhibition of his work
By Kasia Maciejowska Published
-
John Cage’s ‘now moments’ inspire Lismore Castle Arts’ group show
Lismore Castle Arts’ ‘Each now, is the time, the space’ takes its title from John Cage, and sees four artists embrace the moment through sculpture and found objects
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published