Equinox

Equinox (2021) is a permanent kinetic sculpture (a contemporary 3D zoetrope) created by artist Mat Collishaw and curated by Futurecity for the Inner Core of Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The permanent pavilion aspires to encourage dialogue across languages and cultures around the theme of ‘Sustainability’ as an innovative and inspiring marker for sustainable living.

Equinox is inspired by and connects with the aspirations and architecture of the Terra Sustainability Pavilion (designed by Grimshaw) by drawing attention to it as a metaphor for the importance of using nature’s resources wisely. The entire installation and setting is a poetic commentary on the delicate calibration of the Earth’s natural ecosystems and will inspire millions of visitors to re-examine their relationship with the natural world.

Equinox – which stands more than five metres-high and three metres-wide – is positioned in the Inner Core of Terra and comprises a 360° glass viewing balcony, with a central opening through which the viewer can see down to a lower area which contains a shallow water reservoir. To accompany the work, Collishaw has selected poems that praise the sanctity of nature by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, (Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai) and celebrated English poet William Blake.

Celebrating the mysterious ingenuity of insects, their microscopic behaviour and the delicately calibrated ecosystem they maintain. They are positioned inside an enlarged waterlily, a flower that symbolises triumph over adversity, echoing the theme of the Sustainability Pavilion, an inspiration towards a more compassionate relationship with the natural world.

The enlarged Lily appears to be growing from beneath the water reservoir at the base of the Inner Core, towards the light which floods through the aperture above the artwork at the centre of the Pavilion. The work is an optical illusion, a mirage that functions in two different states, a daytime and night time mode.

The term ‘equinox’ related to the perfect balance between day and night. The artwork aspires to achieve a similar balance by offering two different magical experiences to the viewer during the day and night, echoing the delicate balance and equilibrium that exists in nature. During the day, the flower will be in a closed position, with the insect models inside flitting between the 3D-printed petals through animation. In the evening, the surrounding lights will be dimmed and the work functions as a strobe zoetrope.

Further Information   

Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 

Press Release

Artist website

Equinox feature on CANVAS