Do you want to walk on water? The French artist Christo is planning a project in Italy that will link two islands in Lake Iseo to the mainland for the first time. Since the 1960s, Christo has become famous for his large-scale environmental projects, a number of which he, and his partner Jeanne-Claude, have executed in the Italy before: Wrapped Fountain and Wrapped Medieval Tower in Spoleto, 1968; Wrapped Monuments in Milan, 1970; and The Wall – Wrapped Roman Wall in Rome, 1973–74. For his latest endeavor, Christo will construct shimmering yellow nylon paths, called as the Floating Piers, that will reach out to the lake island Monte Isola, circle the smaller San Paolo islet, and return to the mainland town of Sulzano. There should be enough room to accommodate a large number of visitors as the piers will be 16 meters wide and approximately 50 centimeters high with sloping sides. The entire trail will stretch 4.5 km and should be “walk-able” this summer (June 18 – July 3). As with all of Christo’s projects, The Floating Piers will be funded entirely through the sale of the artist’s original works of art. After the exhibition, all components will be removed and industrially recycled. Christo is currently looking for help for his project; info can be found here.
Christo, The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy) 2014, 15 ¼ x 13 7/8″ (38.7 x 35.2 cm), Pencil, wax crayon, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, technical data, fabric sample and tape
Christo, Floating Piers (Project), 2014, 35.2 x 22.2 cm (13 7/8 x 8 ¾”), pencil, charcoal and pastel
Christo, Floating Piers (Project), 2014, 8 7/8 x 13 ¾” (22.5 x 34.9 cm), pencil, charcoal and pastel
Christo, The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy), 2014, 17 x 22″ (43.2 x 55.9 cm), Pencil, wax crayon, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, map, fabric sample and tape
Christo, Wrapped Monuments, 1970, Milan, documentary photograph
Christo, The Wall – Wrapped Roman Wall, 1973–74, Rome, documentary photograph