Locals are seriously disturbed by a 'nightmare' sculpture that has been installed on a rooftop in New Zealand's capital city

• A "terrifying" hand sculpture with a face on it was installed on the rooftop of the contemporary art museum in Wellington, New Zealand — and some locals are very disturbed.
• The colossal artwork, called "Quasi", is a self-portrait of Melbourne-based New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout, who originally set it up in his native Christchurch after the 2011 earthquake.
• The joint operation by Wellington Sculpture Trust and City Gallery Wellington came at a price of $47,000, including transportation and designing the hoist.
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A colossal sculpture of a hand, standing on two fingers featuring a rather disgruntled face is disturbing the people of New Zealand.

The five-meter tall sculpture was installed via helicopter on the roof of the contemporary art museum, City Gallery Wellington, in the country's capital on August 19.

It was meant to liven up Wellington's Civic Square, three years after it was damaged by an earthquake in 2016. The sculpture, described as a "self-portrait" by its artist Ronnie van Hout, was originally set up in Christchurch following the devastating 2011 earthquake.

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Melbourne-based van Hout, who is originally from Christchurch, named the sculpture "Quasi" partly in a nod to Quasimodo, the main character of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame". According to the gallery, Quasi will be gracing its rooftop for the next three years.

But locals were quick to take their judgments to social media, describing the hand sculpture as the "most disturbing piece of art I've ever seen" and a "lovecraftian nightmare".

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Several Twitter users also pointed out eerie similarities with the sculpture and the face of US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, others took a liking to the unique artwork, calling it "amazing".

The joint operation by Wellington Sculpture Trust and City Gallery Wellington came at a price of $47,000, according to BBC news.

"It will haunt City Gallery's roof this season, presiding over a Civic Square largely abandoned in the wake of our own 2016 quake,"a statement on the gallery's website said.

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