Sculpture and Smokestacks

With the desalination smokestacks in the background, this sculpture is called “The Condenser II” and pays homage to the original water condensing system which provided potable water to the City of Jeddah back in the first half of the 1900s. The system consisted of two enormous condensers and boilers that made such a racket, it could be heard throughout the city. When a pipeline running from wells finally replaced the condensers in 1947, the old equipment was left to rust unused in the elements for a couple of decades until Spanish artist Julio Lafuente came along and was inspired to recycle them into works of art. The two salination smokestacks are visible for miles. The desalination plant takes the salty water from the Red Sea and removes the salt so it is usable for humans.