The Sky Over Nine Columns, by artist Heinz Mack, exhibited during the Venice Architecture Biennale, 2014

© Cahir Davitt/plainpicture

The Sky Over Nine Columns, by artist Heinz Mack, exhibited during the Venice Architecture Biennale, 2014

Here in the canal city of Venice, sun and water reflect off artist Heinz Mack’s sculpture called The Sky Over Nine Columns. The piece was on display here on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in 2014, during the Venice Architecture Biennale, and later travelled to Istanbul and Valencia. Visitors are encouraged to wander through the pillars as if wandering through a temple connecting the Earth to the sky. A closer look reveals the massive pillars are covered in 850,000 mosaic tiles coated in 24-carat gold leaf.