Gaza's Lighthouse

Lighthouse is a monumental sculpture created between 2015 and 2016 by Palestinian artist Shareef Sarhan. The luminous installation was constructed on site at the roundabout of Gaza Port, using recycled materials and debris salvaged from the destruction of war. A multimedia, up-cycled, interactive artwork, it was a competition-winning project for the A. M. Qattan Foundation, built using rubble-reassembly and construction techniques.

Built in collaboration with engineers and young artists from Gaza, the work transformed remnants of destruction into a public artwork and a source of light. For several years, Lighthouse illuminated the surrounding public space, becoming both a visual landmark and a symbolic presence at the port — connecting the city, the sea, and the lives of those who inhabit it.

In Gaza, the houses had swallowed the empty spaces once found in the city, and the view had turned into a grey scene of unpainted concrete. This project used modern art to change and beautify part of the city's shape — gathering plastic, metal, old cars, and the remnants of destroyed homes and organizations into a single artistic structure, and bringing art out of the gallery and into the street.

In 2023, the sculpture was destroyed by an Israeli army tank.