Christo is back and surprises with a monumental new installation at the Gasometer Oberhausen. The bulgarian Land Artist, after he 'wrapped' objects, buildings and landscape, returnes and realized "Big Air Package", the largest indoor sculpture ever created, for the first time without his wife Jeanne-Claude.
Big Air Package, was conceived in 2010 and it is on view from March 16 to December 30, 2013 at the Gasometer Oberhausen, a former gas storage tank in Germany. 90 meters high, with a diameter of 50 meters and a volume of 177,000 cubic meters, the work of art is the largest ever inflated envelope without a skeleton.
14 years after showing “The Wall” during the Emscher Park International Building Exhibition, Christo presented a new extraordinary work of art created especially for the Gasometer Oberhausen. The internationally acclaimed artist installed his “Big Air Package” inside the 117-meter-high industrial building. It is the largest indoor sculpture ever made.
“Big Air Package, Project for Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany” was conceived in 2010 by Christo and will be on view until December 30, 2013. The sculpture, which is installed inside the former gas tank, was made from 20,350 square meters of semitransparent polyester fabric and 4,500 meters of rope. The inflated envelope is 90 meters high and 50 meters in diameter. It has a total weight of 5.3 tons and a volume of 177,000 cubic meters.
The “Big Air Package” nearly spans the distance from wall to wall of the Gasomter, leaving only a small passage to walk around the sculpture. Two air fans creating a constant pressure of 27 pascal (0.27 millibar) keep the package upright. Airlocks allow visitors to enter the package. Illuminated through the skylights of the Gasometer and 60 additional projectors, the work of art creates a diffuse light throughout the interior. Inside the sculpture, an extraordinary experience of shape, space and light is provided. 
“When the Big Air Package was finally installed, it was absolutely unexpected what I saw. The fabric very much transports the light. You are virtually swimming in light when you are inside the Big Air Package. The inner space is probably the most unique aspect of all the Air Packages that we did since 1966. When experienced from the inside, that space is almost like a 90-meter-high cathedral.”
Christo and Jeanne-Claude realized their first sculpture involving air in 1966 in the Dutch town of Eindhoven. Their last air package was erected at documenta IV in Kassel in 1968. It stood 85 meters tall, with a diameter of 10 meters and a volume of 5,600 cubic meters.
Here the video of the construction of Christo's Big Air Package
Courtesy: Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Photo credist: Wolfgang Volz
© 2013 Christo
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