The Mastaba, the world’s largest permanent artwork
Conceived in 1977, the Mastaba, Christo & Jeanne-Claude’s project, would be made up of 410,000 colourful barrels and located in the desert of Abu Dhabi.
The Mastaba, a project for Abu Dhabi, will be the largest contemporary sculpture (in volume) in the world, made from 410,000 multi-coloured barrels to form a colourful mosaic, echoing Islamic architecture.
The Mastaba will be 150 meters high, 300 meters long at the vertical walls and 225 meters wide at the 60 degree slanted walls. The colours and the positioning of the 55-gallon steel barrels were selected by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1979, the year in which the artists visited the United Arab Emirates for the first time.
The proposed location is inland, approximately 160 kilometres south of the city of Abu Dhabi in the desert of Liwa.
In 2007 and 2008, Christo and Jeanne-Claude contracted professors of engineering from ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the USA, Cambridge University in the UK and Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan, to prepare structural feasibility studies about The Mastaba. All four teams worked independently and did not know of each other.
The artists then hired the German engineering firm, schlaich bergermann partner, in Stuttgart, to analyse these reports. The Hosei University concept was found to be the most technically sound and innovative. Once government approval is granted, the construction period will take at least three years. The entire substructure as well as the layer of barrels will be assembled flat on the ground. Ten elevation towers will make it possible to raise the entire structure on rails to its final position in about two weeks.
Christo in his studio with a preparatory drawing for The Mastaba. New York City, 1984. Photo: Wolfgang Volz © 1984 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation
In 2012, Christo commissioned Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Albright Stonebridge Group to conduct analyses on the social and economic benefits of The Mastaba. Like all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, The Mastaba will be self-financed and will not require government funding.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's relationship with Abu Dhabi goes back to 1979 when they first visited the Emirate. They have returned many times since, creating a longstanding friendship with the people of Abu Dhabi.
Christo at the proposed site of The Mastaba. United Arab Emirates, December 10, 2015. Photo: Wolfgang Volz© 2015 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation
The Mastaba would be Christo and Jeanne-Claude's only permanent, large-scale public artwork, and also their final project. Per Christo's wishes, The Mastaba will be carried out by his nephew Vladimir Yavachev, who has worked with the artists for over three decades and most recently directed L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped.
The Mastaba (Project for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates). Drawing 2013 in two parts. Pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint, hand-drawn map and technical data, and tape. 77.5 x 30.5 cm and 77.5 x 66.7 cm. Private collection. Photo: André Grossmann
