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The Largest Ceramic Tile Wall Painting in the World

By Gad Nahshon

Haifa in the Guinness World Records? Why not! And the reason is the largest ceramic tile wall painting in the world. This unique project was accomplished by the famous artist Erich Brauer who lived in Ein Hod, the Israeli artists' colony and Vienna as well.

This artistic breath taking creation, name "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden" is located at the new huge shopping mall in Haifa or 'CASTRA.'

This shopping and entertainment complex was designed by Uzi Gordon. The 'CASTRA' project, a unique contribution to Haifa cultural life and shopping as well is the brainchild of the famous businessman Gil Dankner, who loves art. This mall will also have museum not just cinemas and jazz clubs.

A spokesman for the 'Castra Project' David Zohar, sent the following letter to the Guinness World Records. He believes that Haifa deserves a place in this special pantheon. Zohar explained his request:

"Next week, in a ceremony to be attended by the Israeli Minister of Tourism, the Mayor of Haifa and numerous public figures, we will unveil a 320 square meter ceramic tile wall painting, which, in our opinion, is the largest ceramic tile wall painting in the world. The painting is located on the CASTRA building fa�ade (I would like to clarify that we are not talking about the largest wall painting in the world, rather the largest ceramic tile wall painting in the world).

For this type of painting, the actual painting work is not done directly on the wall, rather individually on hundreds of ceramic tiles laid out on a worktable. Once the painting work is completed, the tiles are baked in a kiln and assembled, like a puzzle, individually on the wall to obtain the complete work of art. The subject of the CASTRA painting is "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden" and it was designed by the Austrian painter, Arik Brauer, one of Europe's most renowned painters.

Paintings covering overall area of about 1,500 square meters are included within the mall, most of which depict scenes from the Bible and the wonders of creation. The mall also houses sculptures, gardens, 24 art galleries, an antiquities museum, as well as fashion stores, cafes and 80 commercial establishments.

My question is: Could we include the painting in the Guinness World Records as being the "largest ceramic tile wall painting in the world?"

There is currently no category of this type (i.e. for "ceramic tile wall paintings") within the Guinness World Records. After consulting with many art experts, we were informed that none are aware of a ceramic tile wall painting larger than this one. We would like to be the first entry in this category." (Tel: 04-8243811)