Giant Hands Around the World

There are many giant statues of hand(s) around the World. In this post I am covering some of these.

1. Hand of Desert

Mano del Desierto (meaning: Hand of Desert) is a large sculpture in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The sculpture was made by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal. Completed in 1992 it stands 11 metres (36 ft) tall and is made of iron and cement.

Image from Flickr is by Fernando Mandujano

Image from Flickr is by palegoldenrod

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Source of info: Wikipedia

2. Monument to the Drowned

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.

This statue was also made by Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal (see #1 above). As matter of fact it gained Irarrázabal worldwide acclaim and he later made a near replicas in Madrid (1987), Atacama (1992) and Venice (1995).

Completed in 1982 it 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

Image from Flickr is by Vince Alongi

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Source of info: Wikipedia

3. Praying Hands

60 feet (~18.3 metres) high 'Praying Hands' at the entrance of Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA is reportedly one of the tallest bronze statue in USA.

The statue was made in Juarez, Mexico and was originally called 'The Healing Hands'.

Image from Flickr is by trp0

Image from Flickr is by mulmatsherm

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Source of info: roadsideamerica.com

4. The Hand of Harmony

The Hand of Harmony is one of several sculptures on Homigot Beach, the eastern point of South Korea. The rays of the rising sun are first to reach the hands signifying a new beginning for South Korea.

The sculpture made from bronze and granite was built in 1999.

Image from Panoramio is by jeito

Image from Panoramio is by jjikkani (Name translated from Korean through Google Translate. Hopefully it is right - my apologies if it is incorrect).

There is another hand at the nearby beach next to the light of millennium. While the hand in the sea depicts a left hand the second on the beach shows a right hand.

Image from Panoramio is by jeito

Credits: I am thankful to jeito for informing about the second hand (shown above) and allowing me to use his images. Thank you jeito.

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5. The Awakening

The hands in this particular case are part of a giant statue called 'The Awakening'.

As per Wikipedia;

"The Awakening is a 100-foot statue of a giant embedded in the earth, struggling to free himself, located at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside the District of Columbia. It was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and originally installed at Hains Point (East Potomac Park), Washington, D.C. in 1980 for the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition.

The statue consists of five separate aluminum pieces buried in the ground, giving the impression of a panicked giant trying to pull himself to the surface. The left hand and right foot barely protrude, while the bent left leg and knee jut into the air. The 17-foot right arm and hand reach farther out of the ground, and the bearded face, with the mouth in mid-scream, struggles to emerge from the surrounding earth."

Image from Flickr is by IntangibleArts

Image from Flickr is by Mr. T in DC

Image from Flickr is by wfyurasko

Image from Flickr is by thisisbossi

View location in Google Earth  Google Maps (Note: This is relocated location and the statue is not yet visible in Google Earth/Maps.)