The controversial removal of a giant hand from the top of a New Zealand building is causing controversy

Wellington, New Zealand — Perched on top of two fingers on the roof of an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, a giant hand sculpture has been staring down the city for five years.

Named Quasi, the 16-metre creation by Australian-based sculptor Ronnie van Hout features a human face that doesn't smile – because why not?

Some found it disturbing and now, after five years of causing controversy and a range of emotions – from shock and anger to joy – among the residents of New Zealand's capital, Quasi will be removed from the roof of the City Gallery this week.

It will be taken to a new home, the gallery said on Wednesday.

“This is either a good day in Wellington or a bad day in Wellington and there's not much in between,” said Ben McNulty, a Wellington city council member.

Personally, McNulty told the Associated Press, he felt “devastated” by the photo's release.

The Quasi is made of metal, polystyrene and resin, and was based on van Hout's hand and face experiments. It was named in part for Quasimodo, the bell ringer in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”

Therefore the male gender some say is due to the Quasi.

Quasi first celebrated – or haunted – art gallery in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2016 but proved to be polarizing. It was the subject of a debate in a local newspaper listing reasons the statue “should be moved,” including claims that one of its outstretched fingers “seems inappropriate and aggressively points at pedestrians and office workers.”

“Maybe the monster just wants to be loved?” van Hout replied then.

In 2019, Quasi was placed in Wellington, where he grew over time among its residents.

“He came and I wouldn't say the town unanimously hated him but I think 80% were like, 'What is this monster? What have we done?'” McNulty said.

“But I think that over time there has been a little softening, there is a kind of pro-Quasi group, which I consider myself a part of,” he added.

On Wednesday, many in Wellington's Civic Square, where Quasi's gallery is located, said they also warmed to him.

“It's really disturbing but it's a Wellington staple now,” said Anja Porthouse, who had brought friends and family to see Quasi and was “overwhelmed” and left.

Quasi will be lifted from the roof by helicopter on Saturday, when the giant will go to an undisclosed location in Australia, the gallery said.

“Everything ends in the end,” van Hout told the AP. “I'm sure it will be missed, but even Lovecraftian nightmares have to go back to where they came from, and now you just don't have to dwell on it.”

Dozens have responded to the news on social media with sadness, happiness and jokes about the curse the local belief that the Quasi has been lifted.

The icon has graced Wellington's skyline during “some of the most difficult times,” McNulty said. The city has struggled with shaky buildings, widespread plumbing problems and political divisions in recent years.

Some commenters speculated about where Quasi might end up.

“He's going to the Hague,” wrote one New Zealander on X.

“He will be missed,” said Jane Black, director of the Wellington Sculpture Trust.

“I would personally be happy to see it go somewhere else for a change,” the city's mayor, Tory Whanau, told the AP. “I think there's a strong sense of relief.”