Biomimicry
For the ‘Biomimicry’ film, Iris van Herpen and Dutch National Ballet explore the symbiotic relationship between the metamorphic force in which fashion and dance interlace. The film, directed by Ryan McDaniels, sees the mesmeric dancer JingJing Mao undulating into liquescent shapes and transcending into graceful figures that reflect her myriad of movements. The concept of the creation stems from the notion of biomimicry — the design and production of materials and systems that are modelled on biological processes. In line with Iris van Herpen’s continuous pursuit to materialise the invisible forces that structure the world, the film focusses on the bond between humanity and nature.

VANGELIS
R.I.P
Horizon
In amongst the rings of confusion
Silencing the thought powers one by one
It seems all so incredible
Our own ability to confuse – to sacrifice
To enlighten like a shakespearian play
We foolish and happily hold on to sanity
While all around the pushing feelings
The twisting and turning of our hearts
Displaying an almost indefinable strength
Of purpose – a reason a reason a reason
Where no reasons seems to exist
Yet, as in a vision, a voice transcending
All our imagination, jewel of life
Guiding light heralding a joyous new dawn
Clear and gifted time
Divine nature – super nature
The supreme gift of knowledge and space
In this cacophony of life
Peace will come

Transcending Boundaries

Transcending Boundaries vise à explorer le rôle de la technologie numérique dans la transcendance des frontières physiques et conceptuelles qui existent entre différentes œuvres d’art, avec l’imagerie d’une œuvre se libérant du cadre et pénétrant dans l’espace d’une autre. Les installations dissolvent également les distinctions entre œuvre d’art et espace d’exposition et impliquent le spectateur par l’interactivité.

UK Pavillion
THE POEM PAVILION FEATURES A BREATHTAKING ILLUMINATED ‘MESSAGE TO SPACE’ TO WHICH EACH OF THE EXPO’S ANTICIPATED 25 MILLION VISITORS WILL BE INVITED TO CONTRIBUTE. “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?” Es Devlin

Alone Together

The phrase Alone Together describes a nature of personal relationships and relating to one another that I have found to be characteristic of an experience the generation I am a part of encounters, if not others as well. The phrase in context of communication calls upon the experience and realization that your mental state is completely unique and solitary. There is a push to connect with others as well as to find someone to spend your life with, and along with this push comes the expectation of a complete and total togetherness. There is an eventual point of realization and discovery of your own mental state and its perpetual solitude, transcending physical closeness with others. The photographs in the series evoke contemplation of this experience, through imagery of the mundane, capturing a quiet departure into a somewhat bizarre disconsolate self-investigation. The photographs play with the association of Alone Together to intimacy and love, with an alternate interpretation or redefinition according to newfound phenomenon.