ABU DHABI: Christo's Oil Barrel Work To Be World's Largest Sculpture

Famed "wrapping artist" Christo is planning a massive oil barrel installation in Abu Dhabi that he says will be the world's largest permanent sculpture. Via yesterday's Guardian:

A 150-metre-high, flat-topped pyramid would be taller than St Paul's Cathedral or St Peter's Basilica and would overshadow the Great Pyramid of Giza – creating Abu Dhabi's answer to Egypt's pyramids or Mecca's Kaaba. The Mastaba, made out of 410,000 multicoloured oil barrels, is planned for what Christo describes as a "spectacularly beautiful" desert landscape, Al Gharbia, 100 miles from Abu Dhabi city. Speaking to the Observer, Christo said a site near Liwa oasis has been approved. The region boasts some of the world's highest dunes, with gazelles among the wildlife. Stacked barrels painted in colours inspired by the yellow and red sands will recreate the visual effect of an Islamic mosaic, he said: "When the sun rises, the vertical wall will become almost full of gold."

The installation has an estimated cost of $340M, which Christo says will be raised by sales of his earlier works and from the contributions of private investors that he would not name.

RELATED:  Christo's last major work was The Gates, which ran for two weeks in Central Park in February 2005.  Below is my favorite of the 300+ photos I took on opening day.