The latest work by artist Christo is under construction in London  – it's a carefully floating stack of 7,506 barrels. The Mastaba will be a temporary draw in Hyde Park where the piece will float on Serpentine Lake from June 18 (weather permitting) to September 23, 2018.

The Guardian writes: Is it an allegory of the west’s oil dependency, an indictment of how we’re polluting the planet, or both? Christo shakes his locks and smiles. “I have no reason to justify myself as an artist. I cannot explain my art. Everything I do professionally is irrational and useless.” This, he thinks, is exactly as it should be. “I make things that have no function – except maybe to make pleasure.”

This will be Christo's first major public, outdoor work in the UK. The temporary sculpture will coincide with an exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries of Christo and his late wife Jeanne–Claude's work (June 19 to September 9, 2018), which will include sculptures, drawings, collages and photographs spanning more than 60 years. The sculpture and the exhibition both draw on Christo and Jeanne-Claude's history of using barrels to create works of art.