The Mastaba
Location: The Serpentine, London
Artist: Christo and Jeanne-Claude
2018
For his first major public outdoor artwork in the UK, Christo-Claude created a temporary sculpture that floated on the water of The Serpentine Lake in London's Hyde Park. The public could view it for just over three months (18th June - 23rd September 2018).
This beautiful, large-scale work of art was created by stacking 7,506 barrels horizontally on top of one another. 20m in height, 30m in width, and 40m in length. The barrels' exteriors were painted red, mauve, and blue on the ends, and red and white on the sides and top. An ecological survey was conducted to ensure no harm would be done to the lake or its surroundings.
Having extensive and in depth knowledge of the London View Management Framework, the photography team were integral to the planning application of “The Mastaba”.
The project required planning permission to ensure it did not block the protected view of Parliament from Serpentine Bridge. Working alongside the wider AVR London team, the artwork was accurately visualised to show exactly how it would look. In 2018 the team returned to the Serpentine to document the final installation of the artwork.
'The mastaba is an extraordinary form – for me, more beautiful than the pyramid because the pyramid has four sloping sides, while the mastaba has two inclined sides and the other two are vertical. It’s a different vision of height from different angles, different lines … It’s a movement, a burst of strength. When you’re in a lateral position and you look at the diagonal walls, you feel that the whole structure is going to explode. It is, above all, the result of a balance of forces.' – Christo (Serpentine South Gallery, 2018).
