The complex layering of cultural traces and memory permeating the Marsamxett harbourscape, St Michael’s bastion and Hastings Gardens are the dramatic backdrop to Cristina Iglesias’ new work, Sea Cave (Entrance).

Sea Cave (Entrance) brings to the surface that which may lie underneath. It unveils an imaginary opening to a subterranean space exploring hidden geologies, interconnections and the passage of time. Nestled within the landscape of Valletta’s Hastings Garden, the bronze bas-relief work is eloquently articulated in the artist’s distinctive sculptural language. 

Sea Cave (Entrance) creates a profound and immersive sculptural environment through a reflective engagement with public space. The work hints at a liminal threshold, the potential entrance to a cave, with the sculptural form delving downwards to expose stratified layers and an imagined pitted and hollowed geology. The smoother upper overhangs contrast with the dynamic surges of underlying layers that bring to mind shoreline caves formed and eroded by the constancy of the sea. Water, moving in slow or faster sequences, becomes the unifying element of the work as it seeks to catalyze perceptual engagement. Sea Cave (Entrance) is an open invitation for an immersive contemplative experience.

Image credit: Daniel Cilia. Courtesy: MICAS