Perched on two fingers on the roof of the city art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, the giant hand with an unsmiling human face has loomed over the city for five years. Some found “Quasi” disturbing, and now, after five years of provoking controversy and myriad emotions – from horror and revulsion to delight – among residents, the sculpture has been removed taken to a new home.
“This is either a great day for Wellington or a terrible day for Wellington and there’s not much view in between,” said Ben McNulty, a Wellington city council member, earlier this month.
Quasi – a 5-metre-creation by Australia-based sculptor Ronnie van Hout – is made of steel, polystyrene and resin, and was based on scans of van Hout’s hand and face. It was named in part for Quasimodo, the bellringer in Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”
Hence the male gender some have attributed to Quasi.
Quasi first graced – or haunted – an art gallery in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2016 but proved polarizing. It was the subject of an op ed in the local newspaper listing reasons the sculpture “must go,” including claims that one of its outstretched fingers “appears to be inappropriately and belligerently pointing at pedestrians and office workers.”
“Perhaps the monster just wants to be loved?” van Hout responded at the time.
In 2019, Quasi was installed in Wellington, where he grew over time on its residents.
“He arrived and I won’t say the city unanimously hated him, but I reckon 80% were like, ‘What is this monster? What have we done?’” McNulty said. “But I think that over time there’s been a bit of a softening, there’s sort of a pro-Quasi group, which I consider myself part of,” he added.
Many at Wellington’s Civic Square, where the gallery with Quasi is located, said they had warmed to him too.
“It’s really disturbing but it’s a staple of Wellington now,” said Anja Porthouse, who had brought friends and family to see Quasi and was “gutted” it was leaving.
Quasi was lifted from the roof by helicopter and was taken to an undisclosed location in Australia, the gallery said.
Dozens responded to the news on social media with dismay, glee and jokes about the curse that local lore has attributed to Quasi being lifted. Other comments took guesses about where Quasi might end up.
“He will be missed,” said Jane Black, who heads the Wellington Sculpture Trust.
“I’ll personally be pleased to see it head somewhere else for a change,” the city’s mayor, Tory Whanau, said. “I think there’s a strong feeling of relief.”
If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.