Christo's Floating Mastaba Debuts in London's Hyde Park

Christo's temporary sculpture The Mastaba (Project for London, Hyde Park, Serpentine Lake) is under construction on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, London. The work consists of 7,506 barrels painted in white, red, and blue, arranged on a floating platform made of high-density polyethylene cubes. It will reach a maximum height of 20 meters, a width of 20 meters, and a length of 40 meters, occupying about 1% of the lake's surface. The installation is scheduled to open on June 18, weather permitting, and will remain on view until September 23, when dismantling begins. Christo stated that the construction, maintenance, and removal are entirely funded by him through the sale of original artworks. Materials are low-impact and partly reusable to preserve the lake and park ecosystem. Concurrently, the Serpentine Gallery will host a retrospective of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work from June until September 9, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. This is the first UK public institution show dedicated to the duo since 1979. The exhibition includes sculptures, drawings, collages, and photographs of realized and unrealized projects, with a section on the historic Mastaba project in the UAE. The London piece serves as a scaled, floating reinterpretation of that permanent project.