'Largest human chain in the world': Art installation by Saype

This aerial photograph shows a giant biodegradable land art painting by French artist Guillaume Legros   -  
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AFP

A lot can be told from a person's hands and even more from a handshake.

A new art installation titled "Beyond Walls" is being displayed around the globe and is open to interpretation.

The sustainable project is the work of the French-Swiss artist Guillaume Legros, who goes by the allias Saype. 

"This idea was born the idea of creating, symbolically, the largest human chain in the world and to symbolise that, we paint huge frescoes on the floor," he said.

"When I started to paint on the grass, I quickly understood that my approach had to be sustainable because it does not make any sense to paint on an organic medium by 'massacring it.'"

"So I spent about a year developing a type of paint; I tried pigments, I made small squares in gardens to see the evolution of the painting over time, etc. So it is ultimately a painting that I more or less elaborated."

It’s a global art project that will be displayed across five continents and in more than 30 cities.

It started last year in Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and will keep the artist busy until 2024.

The latest piece was unveiled this week in Istanbul, Turkey's economic capital that sits between Asia and Europe.

"I truly believe that Istanbul is at the crossroads of worlds and cultures, it has an eternity of history, and in addition geographically speaking, it really represents the bridge between Europe and Asia, it was simply essential for us to pass here."

It's taken Legros three years to perfect the art of painting on grass. As the paintings are not set in stone-- or canvas-- they don't last long. And can vanish in as little as a couple of weeks as the grass grows.

The artist, though, says that's a part of life.

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