CHRISTO'S "BIG AIR PACKAGE"

Strictly speaking, the internationally acclaimed artist Christo hasn’t actually packaged anything with his new, record-breaking installation “Big Air Package”. Other than 177,000 cubic metres of air, that is, which fills the white balloon with its 20,350 square metres of translucent fabric skin. On top of which, Christo has squeezed this huge bubble into Europe’s largest exhibition hall, the Oberhausen Gasometer. There, inside the hollow cavity of the gigantic industrial monument, the 5.3 ton colossus hovers. It is 90 metres high and 50 meters in diameter. A specialist company in Lübeck spent a total of 2,800 man-hours sewing the seams, over 12 kilometres in length. On site, the 600 lengths of fabric were then combined using Velcro fastenings. Two air fans ensure that the air pressure is constant and inflate the balloon, which is the largest sculpture ever erected in an enclosed space.