Support 1 Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Jun 1 2017

Location: 

Venice

From Public Delivery:

"He calls his work Support, which involves two giant hands rising from a canal to support the building that houses Ca’ Sagredo Hotel. The idea is to depict that the sculpture is helping Venice. It also symbolizes humankind’s capability to destroy the world and an equal ability to save the world too."

"Venice, known for its canals, gondolas, and centuries-old bridges, has an intimate relationship with the water around it. The sculpture that was made in time for the 57th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale showcases the threat of global warming and its impact on the relationship between the city and the water. Cities like Venice are faced with the threat of rising water levels from global warming."

External sources: 

https://publicdelivery.org/lorenzo-quinn-hands-venice/
Posted by leviya on May 12 2025

Staff rating: 

0

Effectiveness

How does this project help?

Amplifies (issue or campaign)Brings public and political attention to an issue or campaign.  Can include prefigurative action, making the invisible visible.
Strengthens (community)Strengthens, builds and celebrates community through ritual and/or symbol.

Timeframe For change

This project seems to be part of a campaign with a clear long-term goal. Long-term goals tend to be things like: end racism; end homophobia; make the sun stand still in the sky. A campaign with a long-term goal also needs to have some kind of theory of change.
Quinn clearly wants to do something about the climate, and this sculpture is his way of saying that we can all help to support cities like Venice and others which are facing threats due to the climate crisis.

Notes

I remember this project being really popular at the time, and it got people talking about the climate crisis in new ways, especially in the art world.