DUBAI, 21 September 2021 – Equinox, an animated sculpture by celebrated British artist Mat Collishaw, and commissioned by Expo 2020 Dubai, is unveiled at Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion, which provides a stunning showcase for the 3D artwork that harnesses zoetrope technology, an early form of animation, to create a captivating optical illusion.
The centrepiece is a giant lotus flower, featuring an orbit of insects, spinning on its vertical axis. Its petals act as ‘shutters’ – animating the insects within as they appear to fly, eat and pollinate in perfect harmony. The petals of the flower function as a sacred chalice conserving insect ecology, with their enhanced scale underscoring the cataclysm that would follow their decline.
Accompanying the work, which stands more than five metres-high and three metres-wide, is a selection of poems that praise the sanctity of nature, including those 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 and painter William Blake. The entire installation and setting is 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.
Mat Collishaw said: “My work engages with subject matter that involves an engagement with how we as humans navigate the world and the choices we make. The sustainability theme of Terra provided a context, literally and metaphorically, for an experience that invites contemplation and reflection on the precarious nature of the earth’s ecosystem.
“Grimshaw’s architecture in the Inner Core, with its circular geometry, water reservoir and skylight, frame the artwork in an exhilarating way, and I hope it inspires people to want to protect their environment. I am honoured to be invited to be part of Expo 2020 Dubai, which is also obviously a monumental platform for significant public engagement.”
Mona Al Ali, Senior Manager, Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Standing at the very heart of Terra, Equinox honours the core purpose of The Sustainability Pavilion – to showcase the wondrous delicacy of our natural world and our shared duty to protect it for the betterment of both people and planet. I have no doubt that this beautiful installation, born from a fruitful collaboration between Mat, Futurecity and the Terra team, will capture the imagination of each and all who encounter it – inspiring them to become the change makers of tomorrow.”
Mark Davy, Founder & CEO, Futurecity, said: “Futurecity is honoured to be the curators for such a high-profile arts commission bringing arts, science and technology together on a global stage at the inner core of the Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020.
“Mat Collishaw’s Equinox has the power to make complex ideas accessible to everyone, acting as a lens and catalyst for visitors to contemplate their relationship with nature in the context of living sustainably. Equinox creates the ultimate and intoxicating moment in the Sustainability Pavilion that responds to the content of the exhibition and the architecture of the central core, transporting the audience to a place of wonder and appreciation for their natural environment.”
Tickets to Expo 2020 Dubai are available online and through more than 2,500 Authorised Ticket Resellers, including online travel agents, tour operators, hotel groups and airlines from 100-plus markets around the world.
About Expo 2020 Dubai
From 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai will welcome visitors from every corner of the globe to join the making of a new world, as it brings together the planet in one place to reimagine tomorrow.
- With the purpose of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, Expo 2020 will be the world’s most impactful global incubator for new ideas, catalysing an exchange of new perspectives and inspiring action to deliver real-life solutions to real-world challenge
- Expo 2020 will be the biggest cultural gathering in the world, presenting a visually striking and emotionally inspiring 182 days, as more than 200 participants – including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as millions of visitors – create the largest and most diverse World Expo ever
- Expo 2020’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to preserve and protect our planet, explore new frontiers and build a better future for everyone
- For six months, Expo 2020 will be a must-visit family destination, with thousands of events, amazing exploratory experiences, and free entry for children up to age 18
- Expo is committed to building a more equitable and just world for everyone, while keeping visitors safe by following the latest guidance of the world’s leading medical, science and health experts
About Mat Collishaw
Mat Collishaw’s 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, to lure and disarm the viewer before striking them with the self-preserving brutality that lies beneath. Combining Victorian optical illusions with contemporary technology, he shows his viewers how ‘visual pleasure is an elaborate illusion to keep our species alive’. Collishaw’s work can be found in the collections of Tate, Centre Pompidou, Paris, and SFMoMA, San Francisco.
About Futurecity
Futurecity is the curator for ‘Equinox’. They are a leading global cultural placemaking agency that creates cultural strategies, brokers cultural partnerships and delivers major public art projects for clients around the world. Founded by Mark Davy in 2007, Futurecity has produced over 125 cultural strategies, brokered over 20 cultural partnerships, and worked on more than 100 artist commissions for clients across four continents.
About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.