Saype's Monumental Land Art Floats Along Venice's Grand Canal

Franco-Swiss artist Saype has unveiled a monumental land art installation on a floating pontoon in Venice's Grand Canal. Titled #EmbracingVenice, the work depicts two giant hands clasping in a gesture of trust and mutual aid, painted with eco-friendly charcoal, chalk, and water-based pigments. Inaugurated on April 22, 2022, Earth Day, the piece is a satellite event of the 59th Venice Biennale. It is the latest chapter of Saype's ongoing series 'Beyond Walls,' which began in 2019 under the Eiffel Tower in Paris and aims to create the largest human chain across all five continents. Previous stops include New York, Geneva, Dubai, Istanbul, and Cape Town. The Venice edition was realized in collaboration with the Lavazza Group. Saype stated that Venice reflects the challenges of climate change and that bringing 'Beyond Walls' hands through its canals during the Biennale offers a message of hope, emphasizing the human-nature relationship.