IN PHOTOS: The Mastaba, the last work of installation artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude
“I am an artist and I have to have courage. Do you know that I don’t have any artworks that exist? They all go away when they’re finished. Only the preparatory drawings and collages are left, giving my works an almost legendary character. I think it takes much greater courage to create things to be one than to create things that will remain.” These words of Christo Vladimirov Javacheff basically sum up his and his artistic and romantic partner Jeanne-Claude’s creative legacy. Through the years, the self-funded duo and their team have put up massive installations that “gently disturb” the surroundings and “inherit the inherent characteristics” of selected natural landscapes and man-made structures.
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What makes the artists’ last and final work interesting, aside from the fact that it is anticipated to be “the largest contemporary sculpture (in volume) in the world” once realized, is that it will be their only permanent work. While most of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s large-scale installations are thoroughly planned for a few years and removed 14 days after their completion, The Mastaba of Abu Dhabi took nearly 45 years of left and right discussions and is still currently pursuing its much awaited government approval.
BluPrint lists down fast facts about the 150-meter structure below, accompanied with images that mark the milestones of its visual and actual journey.
The Mastaba is intended to measure “150 meters (492 feet) high, 300 meters (984 feet) long at the vertical walls and 225 meters (738 feet) wide at the 60 degree slanted walls.”
The proposed location of the project is inland, “approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the city of Abu Dhabi in the desert of Liwa.”
“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,” the Christo and Jeanne-Claude foundation shared.
It was also in 1979 when the artists selected the colors and the positioning of the 55-gallon steel barrels. When Christo passed in 2020, there were only two projects remaining: L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped (completed in 2021) and The Mastaba.
Like all of their projects, The Mastaba will be completely “self-financed and not require government funding.”
The Mastaba bears the same structural form as the word it borrows its name from, with 410,000 multi-colored steel barrels forming a colorful mosaic that will echo Islamic architecture.
“Ten elevation towers will make it possible to raise the entire structure on rails to its final position in about two weeks. Once government approval is granted, the construction period will take 3-5 years.”
The Mastaba will be carried out by Christo’s nephew, Vladimir Yavachev. He has worked with the artists for 30 years and recently directed L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped.
From wrapping and stacking massive formations that are fleeting yet monumental to finally putting up one last project with a promise of permanence, the journey of Christo and Jeanne-Claude does not end with The Mastaba. Theirs is one of conviction and distinctiveness, a reminder of how art never actually dies with those who create it and how it can potentially be immortalized in the ways in which people choose to perceive and continue it. Although Christo believes that “it takes much greater courage to create things to be one than to create things that will remain,” the persistence of their entire team demonstrates how the power of unwavering courage enables one to offer the world something that lasts, be it in form or substance.
Images courtesy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Information retrieved from christojeanneclaude.net
