Christo: Floating Piers video by Nowness

The environmental artist getting people to walk on water

Whether installing thousands of gates across New York’s Central Park or enveloping an entire mountain in fabric, Bulgarian artist Christo could never be accused of doing things by halves. Working alongside his late wife and creative partner Jeanne-Claude for decades, Christo made waves with his colossal environmental works that exist solely to enhance the magic of natural landscapes (his works are almost always freely accessible to the public).

“Christo makes colossal environmental works that exist solely to enhance the magic of natural landscapes”

In a new film, Italian director duo Roberto de Paolis and Carlo Lavagna capture the artist’s latest work in development. 46 years in the making, Floating Piers sees 100,000 square meters of buoyant walkways—made of 220,000 brightly clad plastic cubes—that connect the picturesque islands around Lake Iseo, Northern Italy.

Images © Christo