In addition to all the talks here at the UN climate summit in Madrid (COP 25), there is plenty of climate-inspired artwork. The most eye-catching is this 3-m version of Support by the internationally-renowned Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn. It’s a reproduction of the sculpture he originally made for the 2017 Venice Biennale, where two giant hands emerged from the city’s Grand Canal to appearing to prop up the historic Ca’ Sagredo Hotel.

Working with the UN, Quinn will be producing 25 replicas of the work for auction, with proceeds going towards climate programmes. I caught up with Quinn at COP 25 to find out what inspired the work and whether he believes artists have a role to play in raising climate change awareness. “I visualised the problem, I rethought the way I have to live my life, at least in part… in the end we’re humans and humans need to collaborate and come together,” said the artist and former actor, who played the role of surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in the 1991 film Dalí.