As Parisians prepare to be treated to a spectacular European farewell from the celebrated artist and sculptor Christo, Abu Dhabi’s Liwa desert awaits its own last demonstration of his genius.
For 16 days from September 18, the Arc de Triomphe will be swathed in silver-blue rope and fabric, as meticulously planned by Christo before his death in May last year.
It will be the realisation of an idea that came to him in the early 1960s, using 25,000 square metres of fabric and 3,000 metres of red rope, all recyclable.
But the artist, born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff in Bulgaria, had one more unfulfilled dream: the construction of the world’s biggest sculpture in the UAE, a country he fell in love with in 1979.
Once the Arc de Triomphe’s temporary cloak has been carefully removed in time for November’s Armistice ceremony marking the end of fighting on the Western Front during the First World War, attention will turn to Abu Dhabi and Christo’s long-planned mastaba.
As long ago as 1977, the artist envisaged a sculpture 150 metres high and 300 metres long using 410,000 multi-coloured oil barrels in what Christo's website describes as a “mosaic of bright sparkling colours echoing Islamic architecture, The Mastaba [being] an ancient and familiar shape to the people of the region”.
Valdimir Yavachev, Christo’s nephew and project director for both the Paris and Liwa initiatives, believes the sculpture could become reality in between five and 10 years.
“My uncle used to talk about the software and hardware stages of a project,” he tells The National. “Software was when it was in the hearts and minds of the team, hardware was as we moved on and started physically building.
“So The Mastaba is still at the software point. But we have done all the engineering, we have the location and we are ready to go.”
Christo and his French wife Jeanne-Claude, an important collaborator in his work, first visited the UAE in 1979 – two years after the artist came up with the idea of The Mastaba – and their introduction to the country was followed by many more trips.
They identified a site in Gharbia, near the oasis of Liwa and approximately 160 kilometres south of Abu Dhabi city.
“Christo was a very visual artist,” his nephew says. “He found a very strong connection with the quite incredible, stunning beauty and light changes of the desert, but he also had a great relationship with the people he met in Abu Dhabi.”
Yavachev says his uncle was “very much with it” until his death last year, aged 84. Jeanne-Claude – “a very critical collaborator with an eye for the smallest detail” – died 11 years earlier.
The Arc de Triomphe project, first mooted by Christo in the early 1960s, has been delayed twice. France’s Bird Protection League asked for a postponement because a kestrel falcon was nesting inside the monument; “we are quite used to bird-related issues”, Yavachev says. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a further delay.
Philippe Belaval, president of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, a French government body that conserves historic buildings and manages the monument, has acclaimed the posthumous Christo project as “an event of global resonance”.
No public funds are involved. The £12 million ($16.9m) cost was met from the proceeds of sales from Christo's work. Similarly, the Liwa mastaba will be self-financed.
“The Eiffel Tower was also self-financing and cost about the same at today’s prices as will be the case with The Mastaba,” he explains.
“Just as the Eiffel tower is a symbol of Paris and France, The Mastaba can become a symbol of Abu Dhabi.”
Christo and his wife are celebrated for other major international works, including wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin in 1995, four years before the building became home to the German parliament, and Paris's oldest standing bridge, the Pont Neuf, 10 years earlier.
“I’m 48 so would like to think The Mastaba will be completed in my lifetime,” Yavachev says.
Honeymoonish
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
