On the lawns adjacent to the UN headquarters in New York, the Franco-Swiss artist Saype has produced a giant fresco of 11,000 m².
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In 2020, the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva hosted a monumental 6,000 m² fresco by the artist Saype. This year, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Switzerland offered a replica to its American counterpart. Respectively titled World in Progress and World in Progress II, both works were created by the Franco-Swiss artist Saype. The only difference: the new version measures 11,000 m²! It was inaugurated this Saturday, September 18, in the presence of the artist, the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres and the Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis.
A peace among the nations
The fresco features two children, seen from above, drawing with chalk various patterns such as a tree, sun, and a farandole of people and animals holding hands. In a press release, the artist Saype clarified the ambitions of this work: “Remind present generations of their duty towards future generations; that of peace between nations, which will go hand in hand with the preservation of the world’s environmental heritage ”.
The fresco shows two children, seen from above, drawing in chalk. © Valentin Flauraud for Saype
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An artist between Street Art and Land Art
The artist Saype has made monumental frescoes his specialty. Halfway between Street Art and Land Art, he paints on earth as on grass using a totally biodegradable paint of his own, composed in particular of chalk and charcoal. This technique, as well as his approach, earned him to be named in 2019 by Forbes magazine as one of the thirty most influential personalities under the age of thirty in the field of art and culture.
Saype paints on earth as on grass using a totally biodegradable paint of his own. © Valentin Flauraud for Saype
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A fresco in Paris and around the world
Also in 2019, Saype had started on the Champs de Mars, closed for the first time in their history, a gigantic fresco entitled Beyond Walls [Par-delà les murs]. A long-term project, it should be the largest human chain in the world, and pass through more than 30 cities around the world. In 2021, he notably continued the realization of this work in Cape Town, in South Africa, as well as in Ouidah, in Benin.
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