LONDON, April 4 — Artist Christo has revealed his first major outdoor public work for the UK, consisting of a floating platform in the middle of Serpentine Lake stacked with more than 7,000 brightly coloured barrels.
To be built by a team of engineers, the sculpture, called “The Mastaba (Project for London, Hyde Park, Serpentine Lake),” will stand 20 metres high, 30 metres wide and 40 metres long, using standard 55-gallon barrels that will be specially fabricated for the sculpture and painted in red and white on the sides, and in hues of red, blue and mauve on the ends.
The barrels — 7,506 in all — will sit on a floating platform made of polyethylene cubes, and the entire work is expected to weigh 500 tons. All materials will be certified as having low environmental impact, according to a statement, while industrial recycling is planned for some of them.
The work is so named to distinguish it from “The Mastaba,” another large-scale barrel sculpture the artist has envisioned for Abu Dhabi.
“The London Mastaba in Hyde Park will be absolutely free to the public — no tickets, no reservations and no owners. It will belong to everyone (until it's gone),” said Christo, who is funding the project through the sale of his artworks.
Construction on the work began yesterday, and the sculpture will be completed for a launch on June 18, remaining in Serpentine Lake to September 23.
The installation of the London “Mastaba” coincides with an exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries of work by Christo and his late wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude that will focus on the pair's barrel artworks and will include sculptures, drawings, collages and photographs spanning more than 60 years. — AFP-Relaxnews
