The lighthouse on the island of Santa Clara in Donostia / San Sebastián stood empty for many years until Cristina Iglesias transformed it into a breath-taking sculptural work that opened to the public in 2021. Inside the restored lighthouse, visitors look down as water rises up, as if from the sea below, surging through forms cast in bronze to resemble the distinctive geology of the Basque Coast, before pooling and trickling away. Featuring extensive photographs of a journey by boat from the city to the island and into the lighthouse, together with writings by art historians, geologists and scientists, Cristina Iglesias – Hondalea documents a remarkable work realized by one of the world’s leading sculptors in the city where she was born.

This book is also available in English/Spanish.

Spanish artist CRISTINA IGLESIAS (*1956) creates profound spaces of the imagination. Renowned for her sculptures woven, cast or constructed from metal, wood and alabaster, Iglesias also creates outdoor structures and installations using water. Her work can be found in inner cities or remote islands, as a site of pilgrimage for humans or as a habitat for animals.