about a month ago i went to oberhausen to see christo’s newest installation: the “big air package”.

bulgarian artist christo (and his wife jeanne-claude) are famous for their huge installations, such as “the gates” in new york’s central park and the wrapping of  the reichstag in berlin. 

about the sculpture:

“Big Air Package, Project for Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany” was conceived in 2010 by Christo and is on view from March 16 to 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 more than 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.” source

within the gasometer you can walk around the “air package”, where large scale photos show how the art work was installed.

the bottom floor of the gasometer shows an exhibit on christo’s previous artworks.

^^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”, the artist describes his latest work of art. [...]“ source

you can also take the glass lift up to the top of the gasometer to see the air package from above.

^^looking up /below: the view from the top of the gasometer

more information can be found here: gasometer.de