7,500 Barrels To Feature in Christo's First UK Outdoor Public Sculpture

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Artist Christo has released images of his proposed temporary sculpture for Hyde Park, London, to become his first major outdoor public sculpture in the United Kingdom. Titled “The Mastaba (Project for London, Hyde Park, Serpentine Lake)," the sculpture will consist of 7,506 horizontally-stacked barrels floating on the Serpentine Lake throughout the summer of 2018.

“The Mastaba” will coincide with an exhibition of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work at the Serpentine Galleries, featuring sculptures, drawings, collages and photographs spanning more than 60 years. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the exhibition will be the artists’ first in a UK public institution since 1979 and will showcase their long-running exploits with barrel forms, chosen initially for their sculptural effect and low cost.

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Throughout the next three months, “The Mastaba” will be built to a height of 65 feet (20 meters) by a team of engineers. The barrels will be specifically fabricated and painted for the sculpture, a blend of red, white, blue and mauve. The sculpture will sit on a floating platform made of high-density polyethylene cubes held with weighted anchors, with a steel scaffolding frame giving the sculpture rigidity.

The construction process will see no work undertaken on grassed areas, and protection given to the Serpentine walkway, to ensure minimal impact on the site. Following the end of the exhibition, a majority of the materials comprising the sculpture will be removed and industrially recycled in the UK.

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For a few months The London Mastaba will be a part of the Serpentine Lake and its natural and urban surroundings. I am excited to realise this temporary outdoor sculpture in the UK this summer. Like with all of my projects, the construction, maintenance and removal of artwork will be entirely funded by me through the sale of my original works of art. 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). I am also looking forward to the Serpentine Gallery exhibition exploring the use of barrels in my works from 1958 to today, which will provide important context for The London Mastaba.
-Christo

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“The Mastaba” has been supported by The Royal Parks, Westminster Council, and BlueBird Boats, but will be funded by Christo, without the use of public money. The sculpture will float on the Serpentine Lake from 18th June to 23rd September, with the exhibition opening on 19th June, and running to 9th September.

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News via: Christo

Christo's Floating Piers Will Let You Walk on Water in Italy

By adjoining 200,000 fabric-lined floatable components, Christo hopes to allow the residents of two mainland towns in Italy's Lombardy region to walk on water for a duration of two weeks in June 2016. If approved, the "Floating Piers" would connect both towns with the Lake Iseo islands via an extended, brightly colored fabric dock that would stretch across two miles.