The Frontline Heroes Festival toured across the UAE in honour and celebration of those who served, supported and sacrificed during the global pandemic.

At the heart of these celebrations were seven beautiful hand sculptures, one dedicated to each Emirate, and each symbolising the gestures made by the frontline heroes throughout the covid crisis: Collaborative, Compassionate, Dependable, Generous, Courageous, Dedicated, and Honourable.

Designed by our friends People & Co, each sculpture started as a photograph and was transformed into a 3D model. Using these models our CAD team created their internal structure, a series of individually shaped laser cut steel profiles welded onto a central steel pole to provide a skeletal construction.

The hands and fingers were formed of CNC milled polystyrene, a polymer mesh forming the remain of the hand and wrist, wired and glued together in diminishing layers to create a fading density.

The internal profiles were fitted with LEDs to light the sculptures from within. Each hand was painted white, finished with a polymer spray coating to blend the layers together and stiffen the sculpture, and installed into its own multi-layered plinth with surrounding uplighters to highlight their differentiated forms.

With the festival touring across seven locations, the sculptures were designed and constructed to consider variable weather and ground conditions, as well as the requirement to load on and off trucks to transport them throughout the Emirates.