Sacha Jafri’s 17,000-square-foot painting gets $ 62M at auction

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Written by Oscar Holland, CNN

The world’s largest canvas painting has sold at auction in Dubai for nearly 228 million dirhams ($ 62 million), placing it among the most expensive works of art ever put under the hammer.

Measuring over 17,000 square feet, “Journey of Humanity” is roughly the equivalent in size to four NBA-governed basketball courts.

The work was created by British painter Sacha Jafri to raise money for children affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

After cutting the work into 70 parts, Jafri initially planned to sell the panels separately in hopes of making a combined $ 30 million. But at a charity auction on Monday, Dubai-based businessman Andre Abdoune offered more than twice that for all their purchases.

Jafri pictured with a section of

Jafri pictured with an excerpt from “The Journey of Humanity” at The Atlantis The Palm Hotel in Dubai. Credit: CNN

The festival names Jafri among the most expensive artists in the world. The $ 62 million raised by “The Journey of Humanity” was hit at auction by Jeff Koons, David Hockney and digital artist Beeple, who had the NFT image “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” sold through Christie’s for more than $ 69 million earlier this month.

As part of the Jafri Humanity Inspired initiative, money from the auction will be donated to UNICEF, UNESCO, The Global Gift Foundation and Dubai Cares for programs related to children’s education, healthcare, hygiene and digital connectivity. In a press release issued by Dubai Cares, Jafri described the sale as “a moment for humanity.”

“At the beginning of my ‘Humanity Inspired’ campaign, I had a vision to reconnect our broken planet through the hearts, minds and souls of the world’s children,” he said. I feel in our hearts that we have come a step closer to achieving this tonight, thanks to Andre. “

A trick that breaks down

The artwork holds the Guinness World Record for the largest canvas art in the world. It was created in a ballroom at the Atlantis The Palm hotel in Dubai, where Jafri was based when the United Arab Emirates introduced locking measures to control the release of Covid-19 last year.
“I was involved in Dubai and wanted to create something poignant, something that would mean something,” he told CNN last year, before I finished the artwork. make a big difference. “

Related video: Sacha Jafri talks to CNN when the photo was finalized last year.

Taking seven months to complete, the painting features abstract brushwork and drip painting in the style of Jafri dubs “magical realism.” The canvas was divided into four connected sections, with the first one represents “the soul of the Earth,” while the others refer to nature, humanity and the universe in general, Jafri said.

The painter, who was educated at the Eton British elite boarding school with Prince William, was also asked children around the world to submit their own artworks based on the connection themes, separation and loneliness through the pandemic. The applications were printed on paper and incorporated into the large canvas.

“I asked the children of the world to submit their artworks – how they feel now, their feelings,” he explained last year. adults, find this difficult. Our last five months have been very sad, very upsetting, very frustrating and very scary. But imagine how a 4-year-old feels. “

Sacha Jafri has used his painting style

Sacha Jafri has endorsed his painting style “magical realism.” Credit: CNN

Abdoune, the new owner of the artwork, said in a press release that the “investment and love” that Jafri put into the painting was “so amazing.”

“All my life I’ve focused on helping kids,” he said. “When I was a kid, I had nothing to eat. Now I have something to eat. We all have to do something.”

Parts of the artwork will be on display at Jafri’s career review, which is currently on display at the Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai.

Image above: Sacha Jafri at the opening of his concert at the Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai in February 2021.

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