Sacha Jafri’s “The Journey of Humanity”, certified as the largest painting ever, was auctioned for $62 million in Dubai.
Change of program for Sacha Jafri’s The Journey of Humanity. Originally, this canvas had the same size as four basketball courts and was to be sold in 70 portions to raise $30 million for charity. André Abdoune, a French entrepreneur in the cryptocurrency sector based in Dubai, decided to acquire the entire work for $62 million (€52.4 million), much more than the British artist could have imagined. The former trader wanted to «bring his piece to the puzzle» and do a good deed by buying this gigantic work at a high price, during its auction in Dubai yesterday, March 23. The entire sum will be donated to charitable associations that fight for the rights of children around the world.
Maintain the coherence of the work
The charitable dimension of the sale, desired by Sacha Jafri, particularly touched André Abdoune. “I come from a poor family,” he told AFP, “I know how it feels to have nothing to eat, but at least I had the love, support from my parents and school.” The 44-year-old British artist announced that he would donate the $62 million raised (double what was originally planned) to associations like Dubai Cares, Unicef, Unesco and the Global Gift Foundation, which provide health, care and education assistance to disadvantaged children.
A monumental work… made in confinement
From its genesis, Jafri’s work was linked with children, and was targeted at raising 30 million for them. Jafri decides to use the hotel’s ballroom to create an unprecedented canvas, based on drawings of children from 140 countries, while he was stuck in the Atlantis hotel in Dubai because of the confinement. For 8 months, he worked on all fours, sometimes 20 hours a day, to obtain a result of 1,595.76 m², made up of dozens of layers of paintings that the artist lets freely flow on the canvas to his satisfaction. “I literally poured paint, and then I put another layer on top, another layer, another layer, another layer, groping until something magical happened,” he told the British television channel BBC.
This intense work, which required a prolonged unnatural position for several months, cost him health, since the artist had to undergo surgery at the level of his spine, after having injured himself at the level of the pelvis and feet. The final result, completed in September 2020, gives the impression of a colourful jubilant mess, which the children who lent him their drawings would not deny. In the long splashes of paint, we recognize the usual style of Jafri, whose works adorn the interiors of Barack Obama, George Clooney and even the British royal family.
