Lorenzo Quinn's monumental hands sculpture rises from the water to draw attention to climate change

Reflecting on the two sides of human nature, the creative and the destructive, as well as the capacity for humans to act and make an impact on history and the environment, Quinn hopes the installation, entitled Support, will address the ability for humans to make a change and re-balance the world around them – environmentally, economically, socially.

The hands symbolise tools that can both destroy the world, but also have the capacity to save it. At once, the sculpture has both a noble air as well as an alarming one – the gesture being both gallant in appearing to hold up the building whilst also creating a sense of fear in highlighting the fragility of the building surrounded by water and the ebbing tide.

"I wanted to sculpt what is considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body. The hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy," says Quinn.

By installing Support in Venice, Quinn draws attention to the delicate existence of humans and society against the force of nature in today’s climate of change. The work generates an instinctive and immediate understanding of the environmental impact for places such as Venice.

"Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries," Quinn adds. "But to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay."

All images: Lorenzo Quinn, Support, 2017 | Courtesy of Halcyon Gallery