Starting off this week, The Floating Pier installation by renowned artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff is open, visitors can now walk on water over the Italian Lake Iseo. And for anyone that is a fan of The Wizard of Oz, you can now travel to the Lake for a stroll on the elongated ‘yellow-brick road’.
“It’s not a painting, it’s not a sculpture. You need to walk on it. Feel it with the sun, with the rain, with the wind. It’s physical, not virtual” Said Christo. The project was originally thought up by his late wife Jeanne-Claude back in 1970 for the River Plate delta in Argentina. The total cost exceeded 16 million USD, but it is open at no cost to the public and is expected to attract more than 500,000 visitors by the time it closes on July 3rd. The pier was created using over 100,000 square meters of yellow fabric, carried by a floating dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes, that move with the lake.
For the first time ever you can walk from Sulzano to Monte Isola and onto the island of San Paolo, which is framed by Floating Piers. “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. They are an extension of the street and belong to everyone.” Said Christo.
For more information visit: christojeanneclaude.net/the-floating-piers
