It is said that, when Horacio Echevarrieta arrived by boat at the Abra of Getxo, he would give the order to light up the Galerías de Punta Begoña to announce his return from business trips. That gesture, laden with theatricality and symbolism, turned the cliff into a stage where power became visible, and where architecture was placed at the service of personal display. The construction—originally conceived as a retaining wall—is today physical testimony to the unusual ambition and bold vision of the Bilbao magnate. What began as a technical solution was transformed, under his impetus, into a singular space poised between the domestic and the representational, between the private and the social. Colonnades, halls and terraces still speak today of the splendour of an era, which is coming back to light after decades of abandonment thanks to the current rehabilitation processes.
In tribute to that custom attributed to Echevarrieta, during the whole month of October and until 6 November, this light installation will activate the heart of the complex: the pavilion that articulates the upper gallery—parallel to the Ereaga pier—and the lower body that runs along the Arriluce promenade. The intervention, deeply linked to the memory of the place, seeks to reinforce the representative character of the architecture from the public space, while also proposing an intimate experience from within. Its vocation is twofold: to generate a deliberately disruptive visual dialogue, and to foster reflection on the symbolic, social and cultural dimension of Punta Begoña, thanks to the evocative power of light.
With this proposal, the artist, Diego Sologuren, seeks to create a space shaped by light within the galleries that can highlight strategic points or sites of Punta Begoña. To this end, he uses prefabricated streetlights, familiar to everyone, as an alien/strange element that is brought into relation with the built heritage.
