The hands by Lorenzo Quinn in Venice

THE HANDS BY LORENZO QUINN IN VENICE

You’ll find outside the borders of the Arsenale and the Giardini venues the most interesting things of the Venice Biennale 2017. But in that post I suggest that you see Venice and lose yourself in everything the city can offer you.

Take the first vaporetto sailing down the Grand Canal, and when you are near the Rialto Bridge you’ll see two giant hands supporting the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel.
Those hands are “Support”, an artwork by Lorenzo Quinn.
I asked the artist some questions, so that he could explain me the true meaning of those hands. That’s what he said to me.

Image source: Creative Boom.com

Caterina Art post Blog: A pair of giant hand emerging from the Grand Canal.
What’s the meaning of this work?

Lorenzo Quinn: I wanted everybody to become aware of the impact of climate changes on fragile places such as the city of Venice: a historic palace which has witnessed the long history of this city, besieged by the flood tide and protected and supported by these two giant hands.
Young hands, of a young boy. The model was my son Anthony who is 11 years old. But these hands are huge and scary, because man is able to save but also to destroy the planet he lives in, and, along with it, even himself and his past.

Caterina ApB: Hands is the subject of many of your works.
Why are you so interested in this specific part of the human body?

L. Q.: I’ve always considered hands the most powerful tool human beings can use.
They can create and destroy, radiate either love or hate.
For this reason, I consider them the symbol of the potentiality of the human species, which can save the world but also destroy it and destroy itself together with it. From a technical point of view, I’ve always been fascinated by the challenge of reproducing human hands, because they are the most complex anatomical element to reproduce-therefore, each idea and each new sculpture are new technical goals to reach, as well.

Caterina. ApB: You are son of Anthony Quinn and Jolanda Addolori, Venetian costume designer.
What is your relationship with Venice?

L. Q.: Venice is very special to me. Both my mother and my wife are Venetian.
My religious wedding took place in Venice in 1991, and I celebrated my 50^th birthday right here at the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel.
It seems that the most important landmarks in my life have occurred in Venice.

Image source: via Facebook @lorenzoquinnesculturas

LINK
Lorenzo Quinn website – https://www.lorenzoquinn.com