Sacha Jafri with the ‘World’s Largest Canvas Painting’. Courtesy of Humanity Inspired
British artist Sacha Jafri is all set to complete the ‘World’s Largest Canvas Painting’ in Dubai, and for a good cause. The masterpiece is being created by Jafri in a massive ballroom inside the luxury hotel Atlantis, The Palm, and will be unveiled in November when it will be auctioned with the aim of raising USD 30 million for charity.
Titled ‘The Journey of Humanity’, the colorful artwork spans 1,800 square meters and is said to be larger than two football fields combined. Once completed, the painting will then be divided into 60 panels, which will be framed and cataloged individually. Jafri also wants to invite children from around the world to submit their creations on the theme of ‘separation/isolation’ and connection, which will be pasted on the first layer of the painting. “I am calling each and every youngster out there, to create a piece of art. A drawing, a sketch, a collage, a painting – which represents how you feel right now. Paint the world as you see it lived. Let’s paint the world a different color,” the artist said in a statement.
Created over a period of more than 20 weeks, this sprawling piece will be sold to promote “global digital equality” with the proceeds from the sale to benefit the charity initiative Humanity Inspired led by Unicef, Unesco, and the UAE-based philanthropic organization Dubai Cares. The project aims to bridge the gap in digital access between developing and industrialized countries and has been supported by over 100 celebrities including British footballer David Beckham, Indian-American author Deepak Chopra, Iraqi-American beauty mogul Huda Kattan, and Hollywood actor Eva Longoria.
Jafri is not new to this kind of fame and is known to have created paintings for celebrities ranging from Barack Obama to Madonna. The 43-year-old artist is described by Humanity Inspired as “one of the world’s most celebrated living artists who is well recognized for having raised more than USD 60 million for charities across the world from the sale of his art.”
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