On my fifth day on the Expo 2008 site, I finally got a chance to see the Aragon Pavilion, the Spain Pavilion, and the Aquarium, meaning I finally saw every open pavilion.
The Aragon Pavilion was designed to reference a fruit basket, one of the signature products of this region of Spain.
The exhibit ended in a large dark room with multiple screens showing the same images. It was an amazing experience to be in this space with other guests exploring the space that included pools of running water and a few artistic exhibits. My photos do not do the space justice, alas.
I finally got to see the parade through the grounds performed by Canada's Cirque du Soleil.
Spain's pavilion was, not surprisingly, difficult to get into.It starts with a domed Imax-style movie that was pretty amazing and continues through rather well designed exhibits. One room of exhibits was filled with those little plastic (blue) balls that you see in kids' play areas. There were signs advising guests to shuffle their feet to get through the area, but the exhibit area itself was roped off and we were detoured around it. I suspect it was a better idea in concept than in practice. I can imagine lots of people tripping and balls rolling into subsequent exhibit areas. Unfortunately, I was told not to photograph this exhibit, so I'll have to leave it to your imagination.
Expo 2008's aquarium is themed around the rivers of the world.
The Murray-Darling River section was particularly well themed and was a colorful reminder that you were looking at Australian wildlife.
Many guests who don't speak Spanish may shy away from the performances, but I saw completely charmed by the Mondomono performance which relied mostly on visual humor to get its point across.
After finally seeing every exhibit, I took the time to revisit some of my favorite exhibits and take note of some of the details, such as this interactive floor in the Valencia Pavilion.
The Caribbean nations were grouped together in a wonderful space that brought what could have been conflicting exhibits into a cohesive, enjoyable space.
Madrid's small pavilion made clever use of mirrors to make their exhibit seem much larger than it really was.
In the evening, I enjoyed the performance Hombre Vertiente.
Expositions can be rather insular places where the outside world doesn't intercede much, but during the European Cup, it's difficult to ignore when the Russian Pavilion closes early so that employees can watch Spain play Russia broadcast in the Expo's amphitheatre. I noticed that Expo 2008's mascot Fluvi didn't take sides when presented a Spanish flag. After all, expos are a celebration of internationalism.
1 comment:
That's great urso that you've been able to see so much in so little time. I really liked your commentary and your photos too...it just goes to show that a good blog with photos is a very effective virtual guide. Good to know you enjoyed the murray-darling experience as well, and that australia, or is that the australian continent was represented. Good show urso, and thanks for your visit. John mcgregor, foundation expo ' 88. Foundationexpo88.org
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