An art installation that plans to be the world’s largest picnic blanket is currently checkerboarding its way through the green rolling hills of Switzerland. This year, about 1500 picnickers have ventured to the site, which is adorably named BIGNIK. And it’s only going to get bigger.
The blanket is the vision of brothers Frank and Patrik Riklin, who started collecting reclaimed red-and-white textiles like blankets, curtains, and towels in 2012. The fabrics are sewn into 15-by-15-foot modules which are attached to the larger blanket using velcro. Each summer, the blanket is unpacked from storage and assembled with the help of volunteers.
This year’s blanket was already pretty big — a little over 3.5 acres — but the designers say this is only 4 per cent of their goal. By 2040, the blanket will be complete, covering a space that’s the size of 100 football fields, or 132 acres. For comparison, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which is too large to fit on the Washington Mall, is about 26 acres. They’re gonna need designboom]
Pictures: Helikopter-Service Triet AG