Architecture + Design

Bilbao Shanghai 2010 Pavilion

Shanghai, China

Bilbao was selected to be present at the World Expo 2010 with the show ‘Bilbao Guggenheim ++’. The pavilion aims to express the evolution of the city from a post-industrial, deteriorated city, to the vibrant and attractive city that is today. This transformation through three stages (the Industrial Revolution, the Urban Revolution and the Knowledge Revolution) is rendered by an interplay of art and multimedia. Paintings, projections, sculpture and light merge to convey the great transformation over time of this city, with the sculpture ‘Piel de Luz’, by the Madrilenian artist Esther Pizarro, as the great protagonist.

The installation, made out of wax blocks cover with methacrylate, displays the urban fabric of the city and its architectural highlights. Mixing matter with light and projection, it lights up to show the different transformations on the city, expressing this way the changing and organic nature of it. ‘Piel de Luz’ was later exhibited at Ecobox Building in Madrid and Alhondiga Bilbao.