Expo 2020 Dubai
What is Expo 2020?
World exhibitions/expositions started 170 years ago, with the first exploring the themes of industry and art. Expos have developed into a global gathering of nations dedicated to exploring certain themes; mainly challenges we collectively face. These exhibitions are usually fully immersive, innovative and engaging-exploring the themes set for that particular exhibition.
Expo 2020 has taken place between October 2021 and March 2022; after postponing due to the pandemic. It is the world’s largest cultural gathering and the organiser’s focus was on “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future through a festival of human ingenuity”. The Expo investigates the themes of sustainability, mobility and opportunity. To do this, areas of the exhibition site were dedicated to each theme as a district. For the first time, each country had a dedicated pavilion to explore the theme of the district their pavilion resides in but also to showcase their country.
My Experience of Expo 2020
Upon arrival at the dedicated Metro station, it becomes clear how massive this exhibition really is; the main site is 438 hectares. Either side of the station is the exhibition centre where conferences have taken place everyday for 6 months on the issues affecting humanity in line with the Expo’s themes.
Walking through security, you are now faced with the central Al Wasl Plaza Dome. Al Wasl is the historical word for Dubai, meaning connection in English, the dome is described as being the “beating heart” of the Expo. The opening ceremony and closing ceremony took place in the dome. It is the biggest 360 degree projection surface in the world. Every evening, different striking images, films and lights are projected onto the translucent surface using over 200 projectors. The imagery projected was a visual spectacular, it stopped people in their tracks to look up and embrace the show. One of the films I managed to watch turned the dome into an observatory being opened up to explore the universe through the lens of a telescope: it was incredibly impressive.
From the Al Wasl Dome I explored each district:
Sustainability
“Every day, more and more of us take a sustainable path towards a future where we all live in balance with our only home: Planet Earth. As we join forces, small actions grow into positive global movements that will help communities protect and preserve the world around us. As you explore the Sustainability District, you’ll see some of the world’s most advanced technology in action, what countries are doing to champion sustainability, and experience how the human race can enjoy living in harmony with nature in a high-tech future.”
Starting with “Terra” - the Sustainability Pavilion, this is the main pavilion for the district. It explores the relationship between humans and nature; pushing people to think about how we consume things - actions have consequences and how we can consume but in line with nature.
"Terra" consists of a giant solar canopy surrounded by 18 energy trees that track the sun and move to harness the maximum amount of energy, 4GWh annually. The canopy is funnel shaped to collect water, which is stored in underground reservoirs and used inside the pavilion for cooling. The building is completely self-sustaining which is incredible for a building in the desert: it is net zero energy and net zero water. The area around the building also boasts wetland plants watered by the reservoir, they also provide filtration for the water.
Under the canopy explores the age of humans: how modern society has advanced to a point where our actions are affecting the whole world. There are a series of giant games, engaging with visitors to explore how actions have consequences and how we can survive our journey ahead together by mastering balance, boundaries, change and values. The courtyard flooring under the canopy describes planetary boundaries; a concept that describes the relationship between planetary and human health. The outer ring represents the maximum impact people can have on major natural systems - such as climate change, biodiversity loss and freshwater use. If we stay within these boundaries, we will ensure the conditions needed for humanity to survive.
The interactive games under the canopy:
A fair hammer game/high striker engaged with visitors to attempt to keep their CO2 levels between so many parts per million
A giant pinball machine describing climate change
A balance maze where visitors have to work together to save the planet - a visual representation of how, if we all work together and live in a balance with nature, the Earth will provide for all of us for many generations to come
In this area, there are two pieces of artwork by Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. He created the works called “Hugs” as a hug from the UAE to the world. He is a pioneer conceptual artist in the region. Mohammed believes that “place is very important to humanity; your personality is built by your environment”. The installation explores acceptance, coexistence and tolerance.
There are two options to explore next; under the sea or under the forest. Both spaces explore human destruction through consumption. In the under the sea exhibition, you travel through the “Sea of Consumption”, where a giant angler fish is clogged to the gills with single use plastics. They have various tv screens showing advertisements for fictitious companies to highlight our role in consumerism and the destruction of our environment. I did something similar within my own work when I created a fake brand of soft drink. I created a whole marketing campaign around the artworks I created.
We then entered the “This or That” exhibition where visitors answered would you rather questions. Again, highlighting the consequences of our lifestyle. This leads to the next part of the exhibition on ideas of working towards a greener future for all.
The final part of this pavilion is a piece of artwork by Mat Collishaw; his work examines the moral ambiguity at the heart of the human condition. Just as nature harnesses beauty to ensure its survival , Collishaw’s work is often seductive in presentation, luring and disarming the viewer before revealing more complex universal questions. Situated directly below the central canopy funnel, sits the artwork "Equinox". It is a 3D zoetrope that considers the delicate calibration of the earth’s ecosystems. It is a giant lotus flower, spinning on an axis, with several insects inside. The insects appear to dance as they scurry, flutter, eat and pollitate the inside of the flower. The flower animates the scene during the day but stops moving at dusk and opens to reveal the creatures, closing again at dawn.
Whilst in the Sustainability District, we visited a few of the country's pavilions in that area. The Netherlands showed the innovations of vertical farming. Brazil had an indoor river where you could explore the amazon and see dance shows. Singapore’s pavilion was a giant indoor and outdoor, hanging rainforest. I found the Czech Spring pavilion really interesting. They had a network of fibreglass tubes outside of the building that collected water from the air. It is an artwork called "The Cloud". The idea behind it is transformation; a cloud is a natural phenomenon during which intangible air becomes life-giving water. It is a visual representation of the S.A.W.E.R system that is housed in the pavilion. Solar Air Water Earth Resource (S.A.W.E.R.) is composed of two systems, one for extracting water out of the desert air and the other for cultivating the desert into fertile land. The exhibition shows the collection of the water and how it could change the living conditions for people in dry climates.
“We live in a world of limitless connections. Explore horizons that drive human progress, as mobility continues to transform the way we live, connect with people, understand different cultures, and exchange knowledge and ideas. Experience how the Mobility District creates connections to drive the world forward, breaking down the divide between the physical and digital worlds to build a harmonious, global society where information, ideas and goods are exchanged faster than ever before.”
At the centre of this district is "Alif" - the Mobility Pavilion. Upon entering, you travel in the world’s largest lift to meet the larger-than-life, nine-metre-tall historical giants of mobility “whose innovations helped navigate the world and paved the way for the technology we use today”. The giants were very life-like and created by the Weta Studios who made the special effects for Lord of the Rings. I personally found this a bit creepy - the skin looked real, with pores and texture, they even had wetness to their eyes. They were models of real people, historical travellers. The backing track described their journeys.
The next part of the exhibition described how mobility has always pushed humanity to develop; having to connect with other cultures, develop technology to enable us to travel further and quicker. Technology is explored including space travel and the use of artificial intelligence. There were interactive parts, mainly for children, to design what you imagine the city of the future to look like.
Again, whilst we were in this district we visited a few of the country’s pavilions. The Australian Pavilion was very immersive, you sat down in a room similar to a planetarium. A young female voice described how the Aborigines were the first astronomers and how they navigated using the stars. We visited Finland where they explained their use of the circular economy and 5G technologies.
Opportunity
“There’s a ripple effect in everything we do. Even one person can be the key to unlocking eight billion opportunities that can help individuals and communities create a better tomorrow, today. It’s time to unleash the potential within and be an agent of change. Witness how our lives and actions are interconnected in the Opportunity District. Meet the people worldwide who are transforming dreams and aspirations into the realities of tomorrow, and be empowered to shape the future by unlocking the potential within yourself.”
At the centre of the opportunity district is the "Mission Possible" pavilion. It was sponsored by the UN and shows how even our smallest actions can make a big impact, inspiring and encouraging visitors to be a force for change.
Visitors are split into 3 groups and follow the stories of 3 UN mentors. The group I joined followed the story of a lady who trained how to install and repair solar panels for her area. She then taught other women how to do the same. The next room was interactive, with visitors using their own solar panel to track the sun to work together to produce enough energy to power a village.
The last room described the 17 sustainable development goals and how you can sign up to pledge to make a difference. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. They are designed to be integrated, recognising that action somewhere will affect other areas and that development must be in balance with social, economic and environmental sustainability.
The goals are:
No Poverty
Zero Hunger
Good Health and Well-being
Quality Education
Gender Equality
Clean Water and Sanitation
Affordable and Clean Energy
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Reduced Inequalities
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Responsible Consumption and Production
Climate Action
Life Below Water
Life On Land
Peace, Justice and Institutions
Partnerships for the Goals
There were tablets surrounding a giant cloud where visitors could sign up to pledge to do something either at home, at school or at work. Whilst I was there, 524,759 pledges had been made. These were small things like donating clothes locally, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth etc. Each one making a tiny difference but contributing to the change we need.
We then visited a few of the countries in this district. The UK’s pavilion stood out from the others. Most of the other pavilions explored the theme of the district but then tried to also sell the country to all the visitors - showcasing their best scenery, exports etc. However, the UK’s was different, designed by Es Devlin, an artist and stage designer, the poem pavilion was designed as a “message to space”. The structure looks like a giant fibre optic cable cut open and pointing to space. The end of which is adorned with screens showing words in English and Arabic. The idea is for every visitor to donate/contribute a word for the pavilion’s AI to come up with a poem that is projected on the screens. Over the period of the Expo, the AI would learn and the poem would become more complex.
Es Devlin describes, “the idea draws directly on one of Stephen Hawking’s final projects, ‘Breakthrough Message’, a global competition that Hawking and his colleagues conceived in 2015 inviting people worldwide to consider what message we would communicate to express ourselves as a planet, should we one day encounter other advanced civilizations in space. What if the UK pavilion at Expo 2020 becomes a place where visitors from all over the world take part in a collective global project that showcases British expertise in A.I. technologies and poetry while transcending national identities?”
It is a really interesting concept. I was more interested in this pavilion because one of the commissions for the theatre is about visitors receiving/donating words. It felt like you were part of the building and that’s what the theatre wants to achieve from their commission. You enter the rear of the building and that is where you scan a QR code to enter your word. Your word first appears on a screen at the rear before appearing on the inside of the building. Eventually, your word is incorporated into poetry on the outside of the building. You also receive a couplet including your word. My word was playfulness; a link to my research. The couplet I received was, "The cold was no kind of playfulness. It was real. It made us look, and look, and sometimes we stared". I found the concept intriguing, a continuously changing collective message generated by AI using visitor word contributions.
The pavilion was just as impressive at night.
Art at the Expo
The whole Expo was a giant art exhibition; from the design of the pavilion buildings to the artwork around every turn. The event was designed to be fully immersive, innovative and engaging - the main way to do this is through art. Art is incredibly important in sharing ideas, exploring issues and can work with science to improve our understanding of the issues facing us, communicating with an audience in ways science can’t.
Here are just some of the pieces dotted around the Expo site:
The Expo Entry Portals - there were three of these, one on each entrance. They are monumental in scale and blend an ancient heritage with a high-tech future, in line with the themes of the Expo. They were designed by Asif Khan, an architect who took inspiration from geometric motifs based on centuries old mashrabiya screen designs. The structure is made from woven carbon fibre.
Calligraphy Benches - around the Expo were benches that upon inspection were actually Arabic calligraphy. Designed by Asif Khan and typographer Lara Captan, they wanted to bring to life a beautiful, age-old tradition of Arabic calligraphy. The words were chosen from a crowd sourced list from within the UAE. The artists explained, “as you rest, take a moment to consider what each bench’s design is inviting you to do. Sit closer to a loved one? Meet the eyes of a friendly new face? Lie back and dream? Chances are that the answer will align with the spirit of the word you are sitting on.”
Messages around the site - under some of the sunshades were hand written messages of hope and inspiration written by visitors. Things like, “Protect the Earth” and “Let’s work together!” were just some of the messages I personally read. It reminded me of the stories and memories people had written about the theatre as part of the “Building Made of Stories”.
Talking Heads - These were two identical metal sculptures facing each other either side of the main plaza. Designed by artist Viktor Vicsek, they are created to show humans countless emotions. Each contains over 4000 individually controlled LEDS, providing different facial expressions.
Through exploration at the pavilions, the Expo’s themes recognise that generating sustainable solutions to global issues demands collaboration across nations, cultures and regions. This can translate over to my research, without collaboration the theatre cannot renovate the building to be sustainable and their public arts programme cannot grow to follow their ideals of being joyful, community engaged and improving the well-being of the community the theatre serves.
Visiting Expo 2020 was an amazing experience which will influence my future work.
Comments
Post a Comment