Making art is its own reward. Creating an original artwork from nothing can be deeply satisfying, immense fun and works wonders for our mental well-being; it’s little wonder that art therapy can prove so effective. There are myriad ends to which artists have applied their craft, of course. Since the 1990s, the mysterious British artist known as Banksy has made his name with witty, thought-provoking street art that often takes governments, or the wealthy elite, to task. And this enigmatic figure always has a trick or two up his sleeve. In 2018, a framed version of his work Girl with Balloon (2006) sold for £1.042 m ($1.353 m). As soon as the auctioneer’s hammer fell, however, an artistic “intervention” kicked in. To the astonishment of onlookers, Girl with Balloon began to self-destruct, via a device concealed inside its ornate frame, until about half of it had been shredded and left dangling. Thereafter, the painting became Love is in the Bin (2018), a cheeky title bestowed by Banksy’s representatives. On 14 October 2021, Love is in the Bin sold for £18,582,000 ($25,327,400) at Sotheby’s in London, UK, becoming the most expensive work by Banksy.
There are all sorts of ways to make art, of course, and not all of them involve using your hands… The largest painting by mouth (individual) measured 93.97 m² (1011.48 sq ft) – or around 30 times larger than a king-sized bed – and was created by Indian artist Shrishail Gasti, in Karnataka, India, as confirmed on 5 December 2017.
The largest painting by mouth
Shrishail’s compatriot Vaibhav Kumar Sharma produced the largest painting by foot (individual) – a 189.89-m² (2,043.95-sq-ft) depiction of a yoga meditation – which was measured in Ramgarh, Jharkhand, India, on 30 November 2023. Meanwhile, for devotees of digital dexterity, the largest fingerprint painting was a colossal 1,195.14 m² (12,864.37 sq ft) – around two-and-a-half times the size of a basketball court – and was painstakingly created by Kuang Xianpeng (China), as verified in Zhuzhou, Hunan, China, on 26 May 2018. Incorporating more than 4.8 million individual fingerprints, and two years in the making, Descendants of the Dragon portrays six Chinese dragons and six ancient Chinese arts: music, mathematics, calligraphy, archery, charioteering and rites.
The largest fingerprint painting
And while we’re at it, who says there’s only one way to draw? The largest freehand drawing is an expansive 4.86 km (3.02 mi) in diameter and comprises 1,000 individual circles. Its creator, Jim Denevan (USA), made the outsized artwork in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA, in May 2009 in seven days, by etching the sand with a rake and using chains dragged behind a vehicle.