Dubai Expo 2020, NZ Pavillion
An Interactive Enterence way to the Nz Pavillion at the Dubai Expo 2020
The Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion sat within the Sustainability District at Expo 2020 Dubai. The pavilion’s theme, Care for People and Place, is based on the concept of kaitiakitanga – the connection between people and the natural environment. The theme was inspired by the world-first status given to the Whanganui River by legislation that recognised it as a living and indivisible whole, with the rights of a person: Ko au te Awa, ko te Awa ko au – I am the river, the river is me.
I collaborated with Creative Directors Karl Johnstone and Jon Baxter and Workshop E to deliver an immersive, multi-sensory experience at the entrance of the pavilion. As visitors entered their body interacts with and displaces projected particles, illustrating the impact of humans on the natural world. The artwork is imbued with the Whanganui River’s mauri (life principle) – its pulse emanates through the experience.
