Giant Hands of Chandigarh, India

Le Corbusier, famous Swiss-French architect, urban planner and one of the pioneers of modern architecture was very enamoured with "Open Hand" symbol. One of his most famous project was the planned city of Chandigarh, India and the city authorities adopted the "Open Hand" as the emblem/symbol of the of Chandigarh. There are several Giant Open Hands scattered in and around Chandigarh. Here are three larger ones.

Open Hand Monument, Chandigarh

This Open Hand Monument was designed by Le Corbusier himself and is largest of his many Open Hand sculptures. It symbolizes "the hand to give and the hand to take; peace and prosperity, and the unity of mankind".

The Monument located in the Capitol complex of Chandigarh, in the backdrop of the Shivalik mountain range of outer Himalayas, stands 26 metres (85 ft), high out of which the metal hand is 14 metres (46 ft) high and weighs 45 metric tonnes (100,000 lb). The hand is mounted on a swivel and rotates like a vane with the wind.

Image from Flickr is by Shubh Singh

Image from Panoramio is by Fernando Stankuns

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More info: Wikipedia

Open Hand Cut-out, Sukhna Lake

Also known as Chandigarh Peace Symbol. Installed on the shores of Lake Sukhna, it was gifted to the city in December 2003, by the Rotary International on 50th year of its founding.

Image from Flickr is by Nitin Badhwar

Image from Wikimedia Commons is by ShashankSharma2511

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Open Hand Motif, Sukhna Lake

Open Hand is a favourite Le Corbusier and symbol of Chandigarh can be found at many places in Chandigarh. Here is a motif of Open Hand built on a shoe shaped islet in the Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh.

Image Source: Google Maps

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These giant hands are also being included in the "Giant Arms Around The World" collection.

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Giant Hands of Mario Irarrázabal

Mario Covarrubias Irarrázabal, the famous Chilean sculptor is well known for his art work entitled 'Mano del Desierto' (meaning: Hand of Desert) in the Atacama Desert, Chile. He has a passion for making giant sized hands. This post is about the four giant hands created by him. These are namely;

1. The Hand (La Mano), Punta del Este, Uruguay - 1982
2. The Hand (La Mano), Parque Juan Carlos I, Madrid, Spain - 1987
3. Hand of Desert (Mano del Desierto) Atacama Desert, Chile - 1992
4. The Hand (La Mano), Venice, Italy - 1995

1. The Hand (aka Monument to the Drowned) Punta del Este, Uruguay.

This was first giant hand made by Mario Irarrázabal. On its completion in 1982 Irarrázabal gained worldwide acclaim and made 3 more giant hands including the most famous Hand of Desert (Mano del Desierto) in the Atacama Desert, Chile.

La Mano (The Hand) aka Monumento al Ahogado (Meaning: Monument to the Drowned) is a sculpture of five fingers partially submerged in sand, located at Brava Beach, Punta del Este, Uruguay. The sculpture is made of concrete and plastic with reinforced steel bars, metal mesh, and a degradation-resistant solvent covering the plastic on the outside.

Image from Flickr is by matt.hinsta

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Source: Wikipedia

2. The Hand, Parque Juan Carlos I, Madrid, Spain

This sculpture made in 1987 is the second giant hand made by Mario. It is similar to his original sculpture in Punta del Este, Uruguay and shows five fingers partially submerged in the ground. However unlike the original hand at the Brava Beach, Uruguay, where the fingers rise out from the sand on the beach, the fingers here are rise out from paved ground.

Image from Flickr is by Richard Parmiter

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3. Hand of Desert, Atacama Desert, Chile

Mano del Desierto (meaning: Hand of Desert) is the third giant hand made by Mario and is most famous of giant hands created by him. Inaugurated on March 28, 1992, the 11 metres (36 ft) tall sculpture, made of  iron and concrete, is a must stop for the travellers on the desolate Atacama Desert stretch of Pan-American Highway.

As per Wikipedia; "Irarrázabal used the human figure to express emotions like injustice, loneliness, sorrow and torture. Its exaggerated size is said to emphasize human vulnerability and helplessness."

Image from Flickr is by Fernando Mandujano

Image from Flickr is by palegoldenrod

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Source: Wikipedia

4. The Hand, Venice, Italy

The last (4th) giant hand by Mario was originally installed at the Riva Ca' Di Dio, Castello, for the Venice Biennale in 1995. This sculpture has four stretched out fingers with thumb resting on the ground. Tired tourists often used the thumb as a bench.

Image from Panoramio is by AnnaJolanta 1

The sculpture remained at Riva Ca' Di Dio, at least till November 25, 2007 (Source: Flickr Image) and at some stage thereafter, it was relocated to a parking lot in Marghera, mainland Venice, where it lies neglected without any maintenance. From Google Street View (see below) it looks that it is in shambles and is barely noticeable to passersby. It is understood that the authorities are planning to renovate it and relocate again somewhere else. Source: comune.venezia.it (pdf file in Italian) (English Translation).

Image source: Google Street View

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Note: The Hand at Punta del Este, Uruguay and the Hand of Desert, Atacama Desert, are already included in the "Giant Hands Around The World" collection and the Giant Hands at Madrid and Venice are being included in that collection now.

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