A pair of god-like hands emerged from a Venice canal. Here's how they got there.

James Gaines
05.16.17

On May 13, a pair of god-like hands emerged from the canals of Venice, Italy.

Image from Lorenzo Quinn.

The building that the arms — which are an art installation titled "Support" — appear to be propping up is the historic Ca' Sagredo Hotel. The sculpture is on display as part of the 2017 La Biennale di Venezia, an annual art exhibition.

The sculpture is pretty magnificent and setting it up was a pretty big undertaking. Here's some of the incredible photos showing just what it took to get bring "Support" to life. (By the way, some of the Instagram pictures are actually videos. Be sure to hit play.)

"Support" was created by renowned artist Lorenzo Quinn.

Image from Lorenzo Quinn,

The hands were built off-site by Quinn and his team.

Just how big are they? One fingertip is the size of Quinn's head.

To get to their final display location, the hands were loaded on boats.

Image from Lorenzo Quinn,

What did you expect? This is Venice after all.

Navigating the narrow canals with the hands on board was no easy feat.

But they made it to Ca' Sagredo in one piece.

Image from Lorenzo Quinn,

Once there, cranes carefully maneuvered them into their final place against the hotel walls.

•SUPPORT• is here! The installation at the @ca_sagredo_venice #LorenzoQuinnVenice

A post shared by Halcyon Gallery (@halcyongallery) on

One down... one to go #venicebiennale2017 #halcyongallery #lorenzoquinn

A post shared by Lorenzo Quinn (@lorenzoquinnartist) on

Almost there...

A post shared by Lorenzo Quinn (@lorenzoquinnartist) on

The hands symbolize humanity's power to reshape the world for good or ill.

On Instagram, Quinn wrote that he hopes "Support" will inspire people "to support this wonder of city that is threatened by climate change. I hope my art brings a new focus of attention to a global calamity that we are faced with. "

Yes!...so happy to say mission accomplished. 'SUPPORT' in Venice to support this wonder of city that is threatened by climate change. I hope my art brings a new focus of attention to a global calamity that we are faced with. Art in 'Support' of art: Venice is now the art capital of the world during the Venice Biennale but the city of art is threatened and needs our help and protection. ------A big thank you to the city of Venice and especially to its Mayor Luigi Brugnaro for believing in this installation from the beginning, to Ca' Sagredo hotel represented by Lorenza Lain (the force of Nature) to C and C architectural Studio, Fulvio Caputo, Marco Zanon, Ufficine delle Zattere, Luisa Flora, Tecmolde, Julio and Irene Luzan and the entire team, She Digital, Grupoo Orseolo with Rein srl and the Gondolieri of Venice. To my super team in Spain at Quinn Creations To my family, my wife and especially my son Anthony for letting me use his hands, and of course to @halcyongallery , representanted by Paul Green, Udi Sheleg and assisted by Shani, Helga and all in the gallery, because without their continued organizational, moral, artistic and financial 'support' none of this could have happened. #biennale2017venezia #biennale2017 #lorenzoquinn #lorenzoquinnartist #venezia #halcyongallery #support #supportart #climatechange

A post shared by Lorenzo Quinn (@lorenzoquinnartist) on

"The hand holds so much power — the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy," said Quinn in a press release.

A big thank you to all for your comments and likes. It's been overwhelming. I wish I could thank each and everyone of you individually. This sculpture 'Support' placed in Venice at Ca' Sagredo, coinciding with the opening of the Venice Biennale, wants to speak to the people in a clear, simple and direct way through the innocent hands of a child and it evokes a powerful message which is that united we can make a stand to curb the climate change that affects us all. We must all collectively think of how we can protect our planet and by doing that we can protect our national heritage sites... Support our planet support our heritage! A warm hug, Lorenzo THE INSTALLATION WILL BE AT CA' SAGREDO UNTIL NOVEMBER 26th a #halcyongallery #casagredohotelvenice #lorenzoquinn #lorenzoquinnartist #biennale2017 #LorenzoQuinnVenice #support #supportart #worldheritage #worldheritagesite

A post shared by Lorenzo Quinn (@lorenzoquinnartist) on

Venice is an amazing city, but it'll need people's support to survive into the future.

Image from Lorenzo Quinn,

"Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries," said Quinn. "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."

It's true. Climate change could end up sinking the historic city in less than a century — and Venice isn't the only city in this situation. In response, the city is currently working on a massive flood barrier.

Our history, and our future, truly is in our hands.

We just need to decide what we want to do with them.

By the way, if you want a hands-on project of your own, you can always plant a tree, pen a letter to Congress, or volunteer with your local museum or historical society. Just a thought!

culture climate change art humanity sea levels europe places italy sculpture venice
Heroes

Man pulls off elaborate scheme involving body double to get his overweight cat on an airplane

Facebook / Mikhail Galin

Putting your pet in cargo during a flight isn't always safe. In 2016, the Department of Transportation reported a total of 26 pet deaths and 22 injuries on flights. Because conditions in cargo can be uncomfortable for animals, the Humane Society recommends taking your pet aboard when you fly, or just leaving it at home.

It's not surprising that one Russian man didn't want to put his overweight cat in cargo during an eight-hour flight from Moscow to Vladivostok. What is surprising is the great lengths he took to fly with his four-legged friend.

Russian airline Aeroflot allows pets to fly inside the plane's cabin, as long as the cat weighs under 17.6 pounds and stays in its carrier during the flight. When Mikhail Galin went to check in, he was told he couldn't fly with his four-year old cat, Viktor. Viktor weighed in at 22 pounds and would have to be relegated to cargo.

But Viktor was sick from their earlier flight from Riga, Latvia to Moscow. And besides, Viktor had been allowed to fly inside the cabin during that flight. The airline staff didn't even bother to make Viktor sit on the scales. Galin was unable to persuade staff to bring his fur baby on board.

"To all attempts to explain that the cat won't survive there on an 8-hour flight with the baggage and would haunt her in her nightmares for the rest of her life, she (the Aeroflot staff member) replied that there are rules," Galin wrote in a Facebook post translated from Russian.

Keep Reading Show less
pets airlines travel
popular

There's a scientific (and adorable) reason why babies hiccup, according to a new study

Photo by Kelvin Octa from Pexels

Newborn babies don't seem to do much beyond eating and pooping and, of course, hiccupping. A lot. Parenting advice on how to cure a baby's hiccups runs the whole gamut. It's recommended parents try everything from nursing to stop feeding the baby so much, from giving the baby gripe water to letting the hiccups play their course. But when your baby hiccups too much, you shouldn't freak out. There's a good reason why.

A new study published in Clinical Neurophysiology found that hiccups play an important role in a baby's development. Researchers from the University College London found 217 babies for their study, but only looked at 13 newborns with persistent hiccups. Ten of those babies hiccupped when they were awake, and three hiccupped during their "wriggly" sleep. We have no idea how the scientists got any work done with all that cuteness lying around.

Keep Reading Show less
babies health
popular

Watch Kristen Bell magically rip through 17 Disney songs in 5 minutes with Jimmy Fallon

via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / YouTube

Actress Kristen Bell and "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon showed off their vocal and comedic chops on Tuesday night when the performed a medley of 17 Disney songs, spanning nine decades, in just five minutes.

The duo started with 1940's "When You Wish Upon a Star" and ended with 2013's "Let it Go" from "Frozen."

Bell will reprise her role as Anna in Disney's upcoming "Frozen 2."

Keep Reading Show less
popular

Women shared how they make sexist men explain their nasty jokes, and it's so satisfying

Twitter—Heather Thompson Day/Naomi Savolainen/Chess Pearson

Ask almost any woman about a time a man said or did something sexually inappropriate to them, and she'll have a story or four to tell. According to a survey NPR published last year, 81% of women report having experienced sexual harassment, with verbal harassment being the most common. (By contrast, 43% of men report being sexually harassed. Naturally harassment toward anyone of any sex or gender is not okay, but women have been putting up with this ish unchecked for centuries.)

One form of verbal sexual harassment is the all too common sexist or sexual "joke." Ha ha ha, I'm going to say something explicit or demeaning about you and then we can all laugh about how hilarious it is. And I'll probably get away with it because you'll be too embarrassed to say anything, and if you do you'll be accused of being overly sensitive. Ha! Won't that be a hoot?

Keep Reading Show less
popular