Invisible loneliness

Invisible Loneliness is a campaign of the BBK Banking Foundation that gives visibility to one of the most serious and unspoken problems in our society: unwanted loneliness. A reality that affects more than 2 million people in the State and more than 106,000 in the Basque Country. An emotional epidemic that is lived every day and that many times we only recognize when it is already too late.

For two days, on the Paseo del Arenal in Bilbao, a hyperrealistic sculpture of an elderly woman sitting alone on a bench was installed. The public reacted with surprise, concern and debate. At the end of the action, it was revealed that the sculpture represented Mercedes, an 88-year-old woman from Bilbao who has been living alone for years and only receives a weekly visit from a volunteer. Her joy and desire to live were the inspiration for the project.

The sculpture was created by the Mexican artist Rubén Orozco Loza, internationally recognized for his hyperrealistic sculptures of figures such as Frida Kahlo, David Bowie or Pope Francis. Ruben studied more than 500 photographs of Mercedes to capture not only her image, but also her spirit.

Invisible Loneliness is not just a campaign. It’s an urgent call to look at those around us with empathy and build a society that leaves no one behind.