A Nigerian art student named Chancellor Ahaghotu broke the Guinness world record for the longest painting marathon for painting nonstop for 100 hours. The record had stood for ten years.
Ahaghotu’s achievement was made public on Guinness World Records’ website and social media pages on Wednesday.
The previous record of sixty hours was achieved by Belgium/Canada’s Roland Palmaerts, but was significantly surpassed in 2013 by a sophomore at Savannah College of Art & Design in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
“I came to the United States to pursue my dreams and build up my career as a recognised artist,” Ahaghotu told Guinness World Records before embarking on his record attempt. “Breaking the record will boost my recognition as an artist both in my school and the world at large.”
The challenger may work on one or more large paintings, but they must each represent a well-known image; abstract art is not permitted for this record.
Over the course of four days, Ahaghotu worked very hard, according to GWR, to produce 106 pieces that featured a variety of subjects, including celebrities, meals, plants, animals, and much more.
At the sixty-minute mark, having beaten the previous record, he painted a broken record player.
“One thing I love about the paintings I created is that they were representing my different moods and how I was feeling when I created them,” Ahaghotu explained.
The challenger, like all previous “longest marathon” records, is only permitted one five-minute rest break for every hour of nonstop exercise.
Ahaghotu stated that he struggled with fatigue at about the 88-hour mark, but he didn’t think about stopping the record attempt since he was determined to finish the 100 hours.
