A poetic vision of an uncertain future and a reflection upon our present, the TRACES public art installation situated on the Canada Pavilion site at Expo 2020 Dubai, challenges visitors and raises awareness about the growing threat to ecosystems caused by climate change.
In developing a concept that would be artistic, poetic and meaningful, the team studied multiple aspects of global warming and habitat degradation before embracing a visual that captured the very essence of their message – a rising murmur of birds, swirling across the sky in a massive, collective movement. In order to capture and convey a message of urgency surrounding the issue of rapid habitat decline, KANVA came up with the idea of fossilization of an inhabited landscape, where birds are suspended in motion in a fossilized form that preserves “TRACES’’ of their existence.
The expression unfolds in a series of eight boxes. Each museum box, measuring 8’ x 8’x 8’, contains a precious object that embodies the beauty of dynamic life in suspension, complemented by multimedia interactions developed with artist Étienne Paquette. As visitors weave their way towards the entry hall of the pavilion, they are invited to move through multisensorial experiences of discovery and self-appropriation.
