Here is the story of the world’s largest art canvas on 17,000 sq. ft canvas, coloured with 1,065 paint brushes and 6,300 litres of paint.
The Art world never ceases to surprise. The thriving area of colours and imagination has given birth to legends who have in return inspired artists to pave new paths of ideas. More than often, what leaves most of us in awe is the sheer originality that stems out of each artist, assuring us that freedom can only be found in something that lets you be.
British artist Sacha Jafri has currently shaken the art world. His painting called ‘The Journey of Humanity’ was sold on March 22nd, 2021 for $62 million which is a hefty price of Rs. 450 crores making it the second most expensive artwork completed by a living artist. Purchased by Dubai-based cryptocurrency businessman Andre Abdoune, Sacha Jafri received more than he had estimated for this humongous artwork and all of the proceeds from the sale went toward charities like Dubai Cares, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Global Gift Foundation to help disadvantaged children amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, at the onset of the Coronavirus outbreak, artist Sacha stationed himself in the ballroom of popular luxury hotel Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai and decided to paint on the largest canvas that anyone had ever seen. He asked children across the world to send him their artwork about isolation and connection amid the pandemic for his inspiration. Then what followed is 20 hours of labour on a 17,000 sq. ft canvas, stretched over a period of 7 months. Sacha intended to sell it for $30 million and give it all to charity. Following the auction, it was named the Guinness World Record holder for the largest art canvas in the world.
The artist has quite the name among global personalities like Barack Obama, Madonna, Bill Gates, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Oprah Winfrey. He intends to work with collectors who understand a sense of art and magic realism rather than acquiring it just for a couple of bucks, as quoted by Luxury London. He believes that power is moving away from artists and towards dealers, who get to determine what people see in galleries and museums, what people should like which is insulting to them, as to say someone has a better eye for a piece of art than someone else is an idea I find enraging, Jafri quotes for Luxury London.
In the video, he explains the artwork and his thoughts behind it. He begins from the pivotal part of the earth- its soul and the very energy of the earth, followed by nature that cradles the trees, mountains along with oceans and lakes. He then covers the evolution of mankind where a child is raised and nurtured by his caregivers- his parents. The solar system forms the crux of the artwork with its dark purple hues and the twinkling of shimmering stars.
Artists like Sacha Jafri create a voice that is often subdued. A voice that defines how you sow roots of individuality and let it grow beyond the lengths of control and defined normality. It is essential for an artist to create with a soul and continue igniting magic through his canvas not just for a larger good of the world but to satiate his own freedom and creativity above anything else.
