Gigantic hands emerge from the water to ‘support’ a building in the Venetian Grand Canal

An artistic installation by the sculptor Lorenzo Quinn, titled ‘Support’, was presented on Friday 12 May in the Italian city, as part of the 57th International Art Exhibition ‘La Biennale di Venezia’. A pair of gigantic hands come out of the water to support the sides of the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel, in an effort to raise awareness about the impact of climate change and rising sea levels on the historic city. They indeed do a good job of grabbing attention, as they are between 8 and 9 meters high!

The project is sponsored by the City of Venice and promoted by Halcyon Gallery with the support of Ca 'Sagredo Hotel. The colossal installation will be visible to the public from May 13 to November 26 and during this period, some versions duplicates of other works of the sculptor will be shown inside the Hotel Ca 'Sagredo, including Leap of Faith [Atto di Fede], exhibited at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in 2011, The Four Loves [I quattro Amori], and Love [Amore], placed in Berkeley Square and Millbank in London in 2017.

The Mayor Brugnaro was present at the opening ceremony and thanked Lorenzo Quinn, complimenting his work: "It was always private initiatives that supported and helped the city. The idea of subsidiarity is just that. Initiatives such as Quinn's honor Venice, and above all, arouse the pride of those who live there. The Venice Pavilion and private initiatives can help strengthen the Biennale, whose benefit for the city is out of the question. We can spread it throughout the island center and in Mestre, as we did with the official pavilion in Marghera. Spreading the Biennale throughout the territory is our real goal. Whoever comes to the city to exhibit is a welcome guest and I am very proud that today, it hosts such a new and important Venetian artist". 

On Thursday May 11, the gigantic hands were transported via boat passing from the Grand Canal via boat through the Grand Canal