Sacha jafri paintings of nature
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British artist's giant painting raises £45m for children's charities
The world's largest painting, which was created by British artist Sacha Jafri, has been sold for £45m to raise funds for children's charities.
Jafri spent eight months painting the 1,600 sq m (17,000 sq ft) artwork in a deserted hotel's ballroom in Dubai.
He planned to sell it in 70 parts, but French cryptocurrency businessman Andre Abdoune has bought the whole work.
The price makes it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction by a living artist.
Jafri said the full $62m (£45m) would go to Dubai Cares, Unicef, Unesco and the Global Gift Foundation to help disadvantaged children in countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
The 44-year-old artist from London originally hoped to raise $30m (£22m). He told BBC News he was "blown away" to have doubled that.
"I was really overwhelmed by what happened - to raise that amount of money from one painting in one night," he said.
Jafri started by putting out an appeal for children to send him their pictures representing how they felt during the pandemic. He got responses from 140 countries, which he used for inspiration, he said.
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Your work connects deeply on an emotional and universal level. What’s going through your mind when you start a new piece?
Surprisingly, nothing. I paint from a deep meditative state, almost like a trance. Studies on my brainwaves revealed I enter a Theta state of surrender, which is rare for artists. This state allows me to focus on pure intentions rather than the final outcome. I believe that humans communicate most powerfully through energy, and the energy we emit is shaped by our intentions. When our intentions are pure, the vibrations we create can truly connect with others on a soulful level.
When I start a painting, I focus on one singular emotion, which manifests as a ball of color in my mind. From there, shapes, marks, and a narrative evolve. This process is emotionally exhausting but incredibly powerful as it draws out the raw essence of the human soul.
How did you first get into art?
My journey began in childhood. I have synaesthesia, a condition where my senses are mixed—I hear colour and see sound. This made life challenging, especially with severe dyslexia, but painting became my way of making sense of the world.
I started painting seriously around the age of seven. Unlike most children, I could focus on painting for hours. It gave m
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On March 23, 2021, Dubai-based artist Sacha Jafri sell the world’s largest canvass painting – The Excursion of Humanity – show off a jaw-slacking $62m. Feel March 23, 2022, dirt took comparable with the helipad at rendering Burj Occupational Arab Jumeirah with all over the place seminal project.
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Read: Video: Exhibition Sacha Jafri created description $62m world’s largest sheet painting ancestry Dubai
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