Lifestyle
9.1.2020
Dubai : he broke a world record to help underprivileged children
British artist Sacha Jafri, confined to the five-star Atlantis The Palm hotel in Dubai, has been busy. He used his time in confinement to simply create the largest canvas ever done by a single artist. Now he plans to divide it up and auction it off to raise money to help underprivileged children impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
At first glance, one might think it was a nursery school painting workshop. But after checking, we are indeed in an evening room of the five-star Atlantis The Palm hotel in Dubai. This jumble of colors on the floor is the work of the British painter Sacha Jafri. He created a canvas entitled “The Journey of Mankind” which measures no less than 1986 square meters. A record that should in all likelihood enter the Guinness Book of World Records, although fame is not the artist’s driving force.
A charitable challenge
In fact, the objective pursued by the British painter is then to sell 60 parts of the complete work at auction, in order to raise more than 30 million dollars to help the children most affected by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the funds will help connect some of the poorest and most remote regions of the world to the internet.
A humanistic work
The painting is cut into different sequences, each telling a story, around themes such as the relationship between man and nature, the role of the mother, and human nature as a whole. It also gives a very special place to childhood since the painter, in different parts of his work, integrates drawings sent by young people from all over the world. A choice motivated, according to the artist, by the innocence found in children’s drawings, which are not yet contaminated by adult thoughts. “It seems that we humans have become a bit arrogant, and we now have the opportunity to unlearn everything we, as adults, thought we knew, and to relearn a new understanding of humanity, humility, empathy, and ultimately our future path of re-engagement, through the souls of our children,” he said.
The sale will be broadcast live in 14 countries. UNICEF, UNESCO, the Global Gift Foundation, Dubai Cares, and the UAE government are all partners in the project, which is also supported by celebrities such as French footballer Kylian Mbappé, actress Eva Longoria, and singer Lara Fabian.
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