"Mundi Mundi Man" Worlds Largest Work of Art
MAKING MYSTERY & MAKING HISTORY
Almost mystically, an image of a stockman appeared etched in the red earth of the outback near Broken Hill, NSW, Australia this is how the world first head about Mundi Mundi Man and what made it even more amazing was that it is the World’s Largest Work of Art at over four million square meters another creation by Ando . Its size only dwarfed only by the sheer immensity of the Mundi Mundi Plains on which it lies. Ando, had already amazed viewers with the remarkable “Big Picture” -- the World’s Largest canvas painting by one artist ,back in 2001 Ando and his partner Christine embarked on a great adventure together to create the world's largest work of art the Mundi Mundi Man project and to keep it a secret for over 12 months whilst it was being made. Although Ando is attracted to doing these ‘impossible’ projects because of the challenge, he loves doing them for the emotions that they stimulate. “With a typical painting a few people can enjoy it, however, these big projects can be seen by millions of people-- and they evoke emotions from viewers that I cannot describe or explain. That is the ultimate for an artist!”
Ando’s background as a Mining Engineer had also helped in the planning stages of putting the image on the ground, “It took tens of thousands of calculations to make this happen but I had to visualise what it would look like from above in order to actually interpret the image as I drew it on the ground. I was the paintbrush with my tractor!”
As a child Ando saw “Chariots of the Gods” which stimulated my fascination with the geoglyphs (line drawings) of the Nazca Plains in Peru and the mystery that surrounded how they were made , could man without technology and flight make them. He purposely tried to recreate an image in the deserts of Australia in the spirit of the nazca lines, he didn't use modern technology or fly over the image until complete, relying mostly on tape measures and spatial instinct to carve out the lines on the desert floor.
“From the air you see solid red lines, but this is only an illusion as on the ground the image is actually made with small furrows, each separated by a strip of vegetation. We were very careful with the land. Simply revegetating in the shape of an image.”
Christine and Ando lived in an old Shearers quarter for almost a year going out every day from dawn to dusk working on the project. It was dusty, hot and uncomfortable but we had an amazing time, It was so much fun and an adventure of a lifetime .
The Stockman image was chosen to represent those who pioneered the Outback of Australia and is from an original drawing by Ando. Although the co-ordination and measuring of the on-site image was completed by Ando with Christine help, the actual image was drawn and interpreted entirely by Ando. The process was one that took enormous attention to detail and tens of thousands of calculations.Covering over 4,000,000 square metres (over 5,000,000 square yards), the Andoscape was etched onto the landscape of the Mundi Mundi Plains ,Australia.
"I have done hundreds of paintings of landscapes on canvas but this is the first time I have used the landscape as my canvas and I purposely didn't go up in a plane until it was complete “Although we knew it would be right, I still breathed a sigh of relief when the eyes and mouth and nose were all in the right spot, I didn't have to call it a Picasso!”
When complete Christine worked her magic and was also able to get the news to the world from a very isolated part of Australia , with no internet, no social media, just a Sat phone , she organised two different film crews as well as a crew from California, Ripley’s Believe it or Not to document the work before unveiling it to the world's media.
When released Mundi Mundi Man filled Newspapers and Television broadcasts all over the planet. Ando was inundated by interview requests on a Sat phone in the middle of the desert to some of the world's most prestigious News Networks , it was an amazing response. Mundii Mundii Man is featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Season 3 Episode 22 along with a collection of treasures and unbelievable things from across the world, More importantly to Ando, it’s a tribute to life in the outback and a loving portrait of his hometown.
The image, became known as Mundi Mundi Man being on the Mundi Mundi Plains, in outback NSW it was an amazing site to behold basically it could be best viewed from above at 2000 to 3000 feet gave the best vantage point a breathtaking sight to see as you approach from over the Barrier Rangers this massive work of art grows larger and larger on the plains ahead “It doesn't look real” was many a comment , there was also a magic trick occurring a plane flew around it ,the Art would completely disappear as the shadows it created on the ground flattened at different points during the day depending on the angle of the sun . Whilst it existed local pilots did a roaring trade with tourists wanting to see “The World's largest Work of Art” . One International airline pilot on an international flight from Sydney to Asia phoned Ando out of the blue to tell him he could see Mundi Mundi Man from 30,000 feet above and that he told his passenger to look out their window, at Mundi Mundi Man below.
Mundi Mundi Man was also featured on Google Earth in a slideshow ,Quote: "The artist Ando doesn't just think big--he thinks humongous."To see the actual Google Earth's shot of Ando's work Largest Artwork in the world - simply enlarge using + and you can see the relationship in size to the landscape around it, proving it is the largest art created on Earth! This page featured the world's largest nature art on landscape ... Ando has also created the largest art in the world on canvas: World's Largest Nature Art painted on canvas by Australian Artist Ando. An Interesting fact Ando's artwork was more than six times larger than the previous " largest work of art in the world " done by “Christo” when he wrapped 11 islands in Florida, USA.
Sadly the years following its completion Mundi Mundi Man endured a terrible drought , and mother nature reclaimed the desert, erasing the Art work with dry hot winds .
"Mundi Mundi Man" from 3000 feet above.
“World's Largest Signature” Mundi Mundi Man.
"Mundi Mundi Man" from 5000 feet above.
“Mundi Mundi Man” Looking West from 5000 feet above.
“Mundi Mundi Man” From 5 km away looking North at 5000 feet above.
“Mundi Mundi Man” Looking South from 3000 feet above