Spain unveils its “basket” pavilion
- Source: Global Times
- [17:33 March 30 2010]
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By Huang Xi
Spain Pavilion in the final stages of construction. Photo: Huang Xi
The Big Spanish Basket is ready to surprise you in May!
The Spanish Pavilion, fully covered by a skin of 8,500 untreated wicker panels, previewed its show for the first time on March 25 in front of hundreds of journalists from all over the world. With the theme of “From the City of Our Parents to the City of Our Children”, the three halls in the pavilion will showcase Spanish cities as a legacy needing to be preserved and improved for future generations. Hall One of Origin presents a journey through time that highlights Spain’s identity. Hall Two of Cities demonstrates the changes seen in Spanish cities from the rural exodus to the present time. Hall Three of Children views the future of the city where our children will live and expresses how cities might be like through the eyes of a child.
The event also gave a sneak preview of a seven-minute audio show by Bigas Luna, a famous director in Spain who has directed Jamón, jamón, which won Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, and Anguish, winner of the Golden Lion for Best Film at the same festival. The show is performed in Hall One, a narrow corridor, almost 60 meters long, with walls covered with video screens and variegated curtains, which are dyed a yellow color.
“I put all these curtains in my own garden so they became rain-drenched and sun-scorched, giving them an antique quality,” Bigas Luna explained before the show.
The skin of wicker panels gives the Spanish pavilion a basket effect. Photo: Huang Xi
Opening with an exposition of roaring ocean waves, the audio-visual show involves the audience in a wild but original world, which aims to represent the birthplace of all life on earth. Then, a savage land of yellow earth appears on the huge screen, accompanied by the three-dimensional sound effects of hundreds of wild horses and ox running from the end of the corridor towards the audience. The show creates a palpable sense of human life flourishing against a backdrop of a ruthless, challenging natural world.
As the nature scenes fade away, hot and spicy flamenco dancers fill the screen, and time moves on to civilized Spain. Pau Gasol and Rafael Nadal, internationally reputed basketball and tennis stars, also perform in the show.
Three Spanish cities will also take part in the Expo’s ‘Urban Best Practices Area’ (UBPA): Madrid is offering a self-built pavilion, a replica of the city’s Bamboo House and The Air Tree; Barcelona introduces the Ciutat Vella and 22@Barcelona projects, and Bilbao will show off its modern urban transformation through the Bilbao Guggenheim ++ exhibition.
Bigas Luna talks about flamenco dancing in Hall One. Photo: Huang Xi
