Photo: Jacopo Trabuio, courtesy of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
The Leaning Tower of Pisa currently leans at an angle of just under 4 degrees, but now there’s a new architectural installation in Italy that is even more slanted. Hugh Hayden’s Huff and Puff Chapel leans a precarious 40 degrees forward, creating the very convincing illusion of total collapse at any second. If you’re especially brave, you can choose to venture inside the chapel and immerse yourself in a reality where the room is coming right at you. Take a seat on a tilted pew, lean back, and become one with seemingly imminent disaster.
The chapel was designed to make you feel disoriented, ill at ease, or even anxious. Hayden’s intention is for viewers to reflect on what they would do in a similar situation. The artist explains: “The work suggests that even a small church can become not only a place of worship and contemplation but also one of resistance—a defensive shelter for The Three Little Pigs, determined in the face of the threatening ‘huff and puff’ of the Big Bad Wolf.”
Hayden is an American artist who trained as an architect and now uses his knowledge to design and create symbolic art that explores the human condition. He is one of the artists commissioned by art collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and her husband, Agostino Re Rebaudengo. They wanted something created for the 61st Venice Biennale that was specifically for their island, San Giacomo in Paludo, which they’ve been turning into a self-sustaining hub for contemporary art. San Giacomo is a 130,000-square-foot island about a 20-minute boat ride from Venice’s historic center.
The Huff and Puff Chapel is part of a permanent collection of sculptures and exhibitions managed by the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (FSRR). Everything is custom-made, with exception of two strips of LED lights. The exterior is made of custom bricks laid atop a concrete foundation topped with a green metal roof and a 10-meter (nearly 33-foot) steeple at the front. In the steeple hangs a locally cast bell bearing the inscription, “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.”
Inside, along with the tilted pews, lies a large crucifix, front and center; however, it’s been reimagined to feature an ambiguous rib cage, which is a recurring theme in many of Hayden’s works. He wanted this building’s symbolism to be open to interpretation, exemplified by the omission of the body of Christ from the crucifix. Visitors don’t need to be religious to experience it and derive meaning from how it makes them feel. The Huff and Puff Chapel has become one of the defining icons of the 2026 Venice Biennale. Though pictures don’t do the same justice as actually standing in front of it or inside. Hayden strongly encourages people to see it in person for the full experience.
To keep up to date with the artist’s work, you can follow Hugh Hayden on Instagram.
The Huff and Puff Chapel by artist Hugh Hayden has become one of the icons of the 61st Venice Biennale.
Photo: Jacopo Trabuio, courtesy of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Located on the island of San Giacomo in Paludo, the structure stands at a 40 degree tilt forward.
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The chapel is meant to make the viewer feel uneasy and then provoke them to reflect on how they handle those feelings.
Artist Rendering © Hugh Hayden (Photo: Courtesy of Lisson Gallery)
Its symbolism is meant to be open to personal interpretation, exemplified in the absence of Jesus from the crucifix.
Photo: Jacopo Trabuio, courtesy of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Everything had to be custom-made, including the bell in the steeple, which was locally made and references The Three Little Pigs in its inscription: “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.”
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The island of San Giacomo in Paludo was purchased in 2018 and is being turned into a self-sustaining hotspot for contemporary artworks by the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
Photo: Jacopo Trabuio, courtesy of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Hayden strongly encourages people to come visit in person if they can, as images cannot provide the same immersion and reflection.
Photo: Jacopo Trabuio, courtesy of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Exhibition Information:
Hugh Hayden
Huff and Puff Chapel
Permanent Commission on San Giacomo
Venice Biennale
Isola di San Giacomo in Paludo, Venice, Italy
Hugh Hayden: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
Sources: The new church causing a sensation in Venice, This ‘Sustainable’ Island Is Venice’s Newest Art Oasis, At a 40-Degree Tilt: Hugh Hayden’s Huff and Puff Chapel at Venice Biennale 2026
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