christo's 'london mastaba' sculpture to be recreated in augmented reality

from today (july 8 2020) visitors to london’s hyde park will be able to experience christo and jeanne-claude‘s final large-scale public artwork in augmented reality. thanks to serpentine galleries and acute art, the late artists’ huge ‘london mastaba‘ sculpture is being made freely available to view this summer via the acute art app. first unveiled in 2018, the ambitious temporary sculpture composed of over 7000 colored barrels marked the artists’ first major public work in the UK.

image © wolfgang volz

planned before christo’s passing in may 2020, ‘london mastaba AR’ pays homage to christo and jeanne-claude’s visionary projects. celebrated for their monumental works, they left an indelible mark on the art world with projects such as the ‘wrapped reichstag in berlin’ (1972–95), and ‘surrounded islands’ in miami (1980–83). THE DESIGN PRIZE, milan’s annual design oscars curated by designboom, honored christo and jeanne-claude’s work ‘floating piers‘ that saw over 1.5 million visitors. the social impact prize 2017 was awarded to christo by the councillor for labor policies, trade, fashion and design of the city of milan, cristina tajani.

christo & jeanne-claude, still for the london mastaba AR (hyde park), 2020. courtesy of acute art.

the london mastaba AR (hyde park) (2020) will be an exact virtual replica of the physical sculpture installed in 2018. accessible via the free acute art app, viewers will be able to explore a virtual version of the installation through their mobile phones when they visit the serpentine lake.

christo & jeanne-claude, still for the london mastaba AR (hyde park), 2020. courtesy of acute art.

in addition to the site specific AR work, acute art will also develop a version that users can place at home or wherever they are. viewers will be able to place and interact with the piece without travelling to hyde park, allowing the project to reach a truly global and diverse audience. ‘the democratising power of new immersive media will bring christo and jeanne-claude’s unique artistic vision to wide and diverse audiences across the globe. and it is always a joy to collaborate with the extraordinary team at the serpentine galleries.’ daniel birnbaum, artistic director, acute art

video courtesy of acute art

‘christo and jeanne-claude were truly extraordinary artists. art for them was not a profession but their existence. christo and jeanne-claude’s genius exists in the transfer between the irrepressible ephemerality of their work and the indelible memories each project produced in everyone who experienced them. it is an honor to present this project as an everlasting, virtual translation of their otherworldly vision.’ – bettina korek, CEO, and hans ulrich obrist, artistic director, serpentine galleries