Expo 2020 - Equinox adds wild magic to Terra pavilion

Equinox, an animated sculpture by celebrated British artist Mat Collishaw unveiled at Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion, provides a stunning showcase for the 3D artwork that harnesses zoetrope technology, an early form of animation, to create a captivating optical illusion.

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.

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.

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”.