Swiss-French artist Saype has brought his massive Beyond Walls artwork to Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown SF, where up to 1,000 people are invited at 4:30 pm today to form a human chain around the temporary installation before walking across it.
At 4:30 pm Wednesday, as many as 1,000 people are expected to surround the artwork at Yerba Buena Gardens and form a continuous human chain around the giant image, as the Chronicle reports. The 150-by-50-foot image reportedly covers about 9,000 square feet of the lawn and depicts two interlocking arms in five shades of gray.
Participants can hold hands or link arms with the person next to them, with the chain remaining unbroken while drone photographs are taken of the project. Saype will then signal participants to walk across the artwork, turning the installation into an immersive public art experience.
“The main idea of the project is to symbolically create the largest human chain in the world, and bring people together,” Saype said, speaking to the Chronicle. “It comes from a deep conviction I have that humanity will be able to overcome the challenges it faces only when it works together.”
The artwork is part of Saype’s “Beyond Walls” series, which he has installed at more than 20 locations around the world over the past seven years. The project debuted in 2019 on the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower and has since appeared at locations including Venice, the Pyramids of Egypt, Rio de Janeiro, and Mount Fuji.
Unlike a conventional mural, the work is designed to disappear. The Chronicle reports that Saype spent two years developing the technique, using a biodegradable mixture made primarily from charcoal and chalk, with water and milk proteins serving as part of the paint. At Yerba Buena Gardens, the image will gradually break down as the grass grows, people walk across the lawn, and wind causes the material to erode.
The San Francisco installation took about six months to arrange, with help from the French and Swiss consulates, per the Chronicle. The consulates connected the project with Penny Coulter, Chief of Protocol for the City and County of San Francisco, who then contacted the Yerba Buena Partnership, which is sponsoring the project. The Four Seasons Hotel donated accommodations for Saype and his two-person team, and the artist is reportedly funding the installation himself.
According to the SF Examiner, Saype, whose real name is Guillaume Legros, chose San Francisco because of its history of social movements, diversity, and new ideas. The city's current role in the development of artificial intelligence also factored into the decision, as the artist sees the technology boom as raising larger questions about humanity's future.
“We are living in a tricky time,” Saype told the Examiner. “San Francisco will once again be at the heart of a decisive question for all humanity. What kind of future are the new technologies preparing for humanity?”
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