Magazine

The London Mastaba

20 June 2018

Christo’s first public art in the UK will float in the Serpentine Lake until September

On June, 18 Christo’s last project inaugurated in London and it promises to break once again every record!
The temporary sculpture The London Mastaba consists of 7,506 horizontally stacked barrels on a floating platform in the Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park and will be on view until 23 September 2018. This project is the first major outdoor public work by Christo in the UK, and it coincides with an exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries of Christo and his late wife Jeanne–Claude.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude
The London Mastaba, Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park, 2016-18
Photo: Wolfgang Volz © 2018 Christo

We are sure that the Londoners and the many tourists will enjoy this world-class art for free in the gorgeous surroundings of Hyde Park. His last project The Floating Piers at Lake Iseo, Italy– another floating art work - was the most visited art work in 2016 with 1,2 million visitors coming from all over the world.

The construction of The London Mastaba consists of 7,506 horizontally stacked barrels on a floating platform, 20 metres high, 30 metres wide and 40 metres long. Standard 55 gallon barrels were fabricated and painted for the sculpture.
The sculpture’s floating platform is made of interlocking high-density polyethylene cubes and is held in place with 32 6-tonne anchors. The barrel-supporting substructure consists of scaffolding and a steel frame that connects to the floating platform. The sculpture’s total weight is 600 tonnes and its footprint takes up approximately 1% of the total surface area of the lake.
All construction materials are certified as having low environmental impact to preserve the ecosystem of the lake and will be removed and industrially recycled in the UK following the project.