Hand-Stands take the form of large cast metal hands protruding from the ground, with their fingers pointing skywards at a range of angles.
These hands are placed in public places and are intended to be used by cyclists to park their bikes using the spaces between the fingers to hold them in situ.
Each finger also has a ring to which the bicycle lock/chain can be secured.
Each Hand-Stand is unique because they are modelled from 3D scans of real human hands, the scans being obtained from a volunteer participant process. This means there will be a variety of all types of hands: ie big hands, small hands, long fingers, old hands, children’s hands and even hands with scars, missing fingers or joints distorted by arthritis.
Rows of hands may also have the fingers positioned in such a way as to deliver a message in sign language.
Hand Stands are most likely to be found in progressive European and UK cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Berlin and London where cycling has really taken off as a means of getting around on the new high quality segregated cycle lanes that are being developed.