Mano del Desierto, or Hand of the Desert, stands in the desert about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south-east of Antofagasta, Chile, near the Pan-American Highway. Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal made it. Corporación Pro Antofagasta, a local booster organization, funded it, and it was inaugurated on March 28, 1992.
The sculpture is 36 feet (11 meters) tall and sits on an iron-and-concrete base at an altitude of 3,609 feet (1,100 meters).
The article says it refers to human rights abuses under the Pinochet regime. Its oversized form suggests human vulnerability and helplessness. It is cleaned occasionally because of graffiti. Corporación Pro Antofagasta paid for it, so the article lists that group as its client.
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