Guess the City: Sculptures (8 Photos)
By Vidar
Eight sculptures, eight cities
Giant hands, a tree-holding troll and a building with a zipper: can you put these artworks on the map? Pick one of four cities for each photo to reveal its location, artist and story. Your score appears after all eight. Some photos show temporary or former installations.
These giant hands rise from a canal. Which city is this?
Show answer
Venice, Italy 🇮🇹
Lorenzo Quinn installed Support beside Ca’ Sagredo on the Grand Canal in 2017, during the Venice Biennale. The hands were modeled on a child’s hands, a detail the artist explains in his biography.
This tree-holding troll lives beside the Mississippi in Iowa. Which city?
Show answer
Clinton, Iowa, USA 🇺🇸
Helmut stands near the Sawmill Museum in Clinton, as Eastern Iowa Community Colleges documents. He is one of three troll brothers made in 2026 from local reclaimed wood, with help from community volunteers; Thomas Dambo’s project page connects their story to the town’s lumber history.
More: Three Giant Trolls Followed Their Stolen Trees to Iowa
Which Italian city saw this façade unzip?
Show answer
Milan, Italy 🇮🇹
Alex Chinneck built this temporary installation at Opificio 31 for Milan Design Week in 2019. More zips opened the walls and floor inside, as the official event listing describes.
These hooded figures were photographed in the gardens of an English bishop’s palace. Which city?
Show answer
Wells, Somerset, England 🇬🇧
This is Philip Jackson’s Cloister Conspiracy in the gardens of the Bishop’s Palace in Wells. A photograph dated August 2006 documents the work there as part of his Sacred and Profane exhibition.
This figure stands above the Missouri River in South Dakota. Which city is nearby?
Show answer
Near Chamberlain, South Dakota, USA 🇺🇸
Dale Lamphere’s Dignity of Earth and Sky is a 50-foot stainless-steel sculpture honoring the Native Nations of the Great Plains. Its star quilt contains 128 diamonds, and the work was dedicated in September 2016, according to Lamphere Studio.
📷 Artwork and photo courtesy of Wara Art Festival
Rice straw became a giant walrus at a festival in which Japanese city?
Show answer
Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵
The walrus appeared at the Wara Art Festival in Uwasekigata Park. Niigata City’s festival archive records a collaboration between Musashino Art University students and local residents, turning rice straw into large sculptures.
Which Nordic capital once had this gorilla made from used car tires?
Show answer
Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮
Villu Jaanisoo made Everything Is Possible for the Viikki campus of the University of Helsinki, fixing pieces of used tires over a steel frame. The sculpture was destroyed by arson in early 2018, the university reported.
📷 Artwork: Svajūnas Jurkus and Sergėjus Plotnikovas · Photo: Yevgen Belich / Shutterstock
Which Baltic port has this lantern-carrying visitor?
Show answer
Klaipėda, Lithuania 🇱🇹
Svajūnas Jurkus and Sergėjus Plotnikovas made the Black Ghost beside the waterfront bridge near Klaipėda Castle. It recalls a local legend in which a ghost warned a guard in 1595 that grain and timber would run short, as the regional library’s heritage guide explains.
Your score
Copy your score above and share it. Which sculpture would you travel to see?
Street art, straight to your inbox
New stories from Street Art Utopia. Choose how often they arrive.
More visual stories
More to explore
From our sister blog
Discover World Art Utopia
A few more artworks to take you somewhere else.
