The other day, a pair of giant hands appeared rising out of a canal in Venice, as if to support the sides of the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel. It was an installation art by Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn who wanted to make a visual statement of the impact of climate change and rising sea levels on the historic city.

Quinn isn’t the only one to use hands to deliver a powerful message. Let us look at other giant hand installation around the world.

Perhaps the most famous dismembered hand is “Mano del Desierto” in the middle of the Atacama Desert, located 75 kilometers south of the city of Antofagasta. The art piece was created by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal in honor of the victims of injustice and torture during the military regime in Chile. The concrete structure stands 11 meters tall.

Photo credit: MarcosEscalier/Wikimedia