BRITISH ARTIST BUSY WITH THE WORLD’S LARGEST PAINTING

The ballroom of luxury hotel Atlantis The Palm in Dubai has been taken over by a British artist who is currently busy painting the world’s largest painting on canvas.

Sacha Jafri hopes to raise $30 million for charity when the artwork is auctioned off. The Journey Of Humanity will be 1,980 square metres in size when it is finished.

Why is he painting it in Dubai? The artist was based in Dubai during the time when the United Arab Emirates announced a national lockdown as part of its efforts to combat the spread of the Coronavirus that has caused a worldwide pandemic.

"I was stuck in Dubai and I wanted to create something poignant, something that would mean something," he told CNN. "Something that could potentially make a really big difference."

While the artwork includes Jafri’s own style, he also enlisted the help of children from around the world. The effect that the pandemic has had on kids is something close to the artist’s heart.

"I asked the children of the world to send in their artworks – how they feel now, their emotions. We, as adults, are finding this hard. We found the last five months very difficult, very confusing, very frustrating and quite scary. But imagine how a four-year-old feels."

According to the artist's Instagram post, the aim of the painting is to divide it into 60 different panels which will then be sold off at an auction. Jafri works closely with international charities and the money raised during the auction will be used to help 10 million children around the world.

Potential investors are allowed to choose their panel beforehand.

Watch the KT Storybook video below to experience the size of the world’s largest painting in the making.

Image credit: Khaleej Times and CNN