Sacha Jafri’s “Humanity Journey” Brings $ 62 Million to Dubai Charity Auction

by

Composed of Oscar Holland, CNN

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

Measuring over 17,000 square meters, “The Journey of Humanity” is about the size of four NBA-regulated 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 had initially intended to sell the panels separately, hoping to earn a total of $ 30 million. But at a charity auction on Monday, Dubai businessman Andre Abdoune offered more than double than to buy them all.

Jafri photographed with a section of

Jafri is photographed with a section of “The Journey of Humanity” at the Atlantis The Palm Hotel in Dubai. Credit: CNN

The sale places Jafri’s name among the most expensive artists in the world. The $ 62 million raised by “The Journey of Humanity” was auctioned only by the works of Jeff Koons, David Hockney and digital artist Beeple, whose NFT image “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” was sold through Christie’s for over $ 69 million earlier this month.

As part of Jafri’s Humanity Inspired initiative, proceeds from the auction will be donated to UNICEF, UNESCO, The Global Gift Foundation and Dubai Cares for programs related to children’s education, health care, sanitation 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’ initiative, I had a vision to reconnect our broken planet through the hearts, minds and souls of the world’s children,” he says. “I feel in my heart that I have taken a step closer to achieving this tonight, thanks to Andre.”

Feat-record-feat

The artwork holds the Guinness record for the largest art canvas in the world. It was set up in a ballroom at the Atlantis The Palm Hotel in Dubai, where Jafri was based when the United Arab Emirates introduced blockade measures to control the spread of Covid-19 last year.
“I was stuck in Dubai and I wanted to create something intense, something that meant something,” he told CNN last year, before the artwork was completed. “Something that could make a big difference.”

Related video: Sacha Jafri talks to CNN at the end of painting last year.

Taking seven months to complete, the painting features abstract brushes and drip painting in a style Jafri calls “magical realism.” The canvas was divided into four connected segments, the first representing the “soul of the Earth” and the others alluding to nature, humanity and the wider universe, Jafri said.

The painter, who was educated at the elite British boarding school Eton with Prince William, also asked children around the world to contribute their own works of art focused on the themes of connection, separation and isolation during the pandemic. The references were printed on paper and incorporated into the huge canvas.

“I asked the children of the world to send their work – how they feel now, their emotions,” he explained last year. “We, as adults, find this difficult. We have found the last five months very difficult, very confusing, very frustrating and quite scary. But imagine how a 4-year-old feels.”

Sacha Jafri called his style of painting

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

Abdoune, the new owner of the artwork, said in a press statement that the “investment and love” that Jafri put in the picture were “so amazing”.

“All my life I’ve been trying to help children,” 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 retrospective, which is currently on display at the Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai.

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

.Source