Christo and his late partner, Jean Claude’s latest massive public art installation, The Floating Piers, opened just three days ago on Lake Iseo in Italy, but it’s fast becoming a viral Internet and Instagram sensation.
Image: via TheFloatingPiers.com
For just over two weeks, running through July 3 (weather permitting) in Northern Italy, the artists have transformed the lake with 100,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric, carried by a modular floating dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethelene cubes, as described on the artist’s website. They undulate with the movement of the waves as The Floating Piers sit just above the surface of the water.
Lucky visitors get to experience the work by walking on it from island to island—Sulzano to Monte Isola to San Paolo. Lake Iseo is just over 60 miles east of the city of Milan.
“It’s amazing!!” said our friend, Anna Rosa Thomae (above), who runs her own art public relations firm and was on site today.
In a statement on his website, Christo says: “Like all of our projects, The Floating Piers is absolutely free and accessible 24 hours a day, weather permitting. There are no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners. The Floating Piers are an extension of the street and belong to everyone.”
Related: Thousands of Tourists Stranded En Route to Christo’s ‘Floating Piers’
The Floating Piers was first conceived in 1970 by Christo and Jean Claude—like many projects from the duo, it took many years of careful planning to bring the project to fruition. “Those who experience The Floating Piers will feel like they are walking on water—or perhaps the back of a whale,” said Christo. “The light and water will transform the bright yellow fabric to shades of red and gold throughout the sixteen days.”
See Instagram photos of the installation below.