Hey there, welcome to Quasi, the quirky sculpture that definitely gets people talking! Created by New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout, Quasi sits up high on the roof of City Gallery Wellington, showing off van Hout's unsmiling face perched on top of a gigantic 5-meter hand. Some folks have described it as "kinda creepy" or "a Lovecraftian nightmare come to life". But hey, art is open to interpretation, right?
The name "Quasi" comes from Quasimodo, the hunchbacked character from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and the Latin prefix "quasi-" means "almost" or "as it were". This unique sculpture, made from polystyrene, steel, and resin, was actually created as a "partial self-portrait" by van Hout for his hometown of Christchurch after the 2011 earthquake.
After stirring up some controversy in Christchurch, Quasi made its way here to Wellington in August 2019, where it plans to hang around for a few more years. Love it or hate it, this sculpture definitely leaves an impression! So, what do you think of Quasi? Fascinating or frightful?
