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Sacha Jafri Creates a Painiting as Big as His Heart

March 31, 2021

17000 square foot multi color painitngWhen it too big, too much – apparently not when your heart is in the right place. According to Guinness World Records, a recently created painting that just sold is the world’s largest and one of the most expensive sold by a living artist. The work was auctioned off in Dubai last month.

Sacha Jafri, a British artist, created the work over seven months during the Covid-19 pandemic; he completed it last September. Jafri incorporated the artwork of children from over 140 countries to make the giant painting, which ended up being seventy individual sections. He titled the painting The Journey of Humanity which measured over 17,000 square feet. Jafri intended the artwork to be sold in segments.

He hoped all the segments would raise $30M, which would be donated to different children’s charities, helping those affected by covid-19 and supporting children’s health, sanitation, education, and digital connectivity in areas it is most needed. Charities that will receive some much-needed funds are UNICEF, UNESCO, the Global Gift Foundation, and Dubai Cares.

The piece(s) surpassed his expectation when they sold to one collector for $62M. The Journey of Humanity is now the fourth most expensive work by a living artist. Artists who have garnered more at auction are Jeff Koons’ Rabbit – $91.1M, David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) – $90M and the most recent sale of Beeple’s  Everydays: The First 5000 Days, as you all must know by now, it’s the NFT that sold for $69.3M.

The new owner of The Journey of Humanity is Andre Abdoune, a French national currently living in Dubai and runs a cryptocurrency business, no surprise here. Abdoune is now part of an elite group of collectors of Jafri’s work; they include Barack Obama, Sir Richard Branson, Paul McCartney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates, Madonna, David Beckham, George Clooney, and Eva Longoria.

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