Dubai: Rich in mythology and ancient relics, the island country of Ireland aims to encapsulate 5,000 years of history in an immersive exhibit while celebrating its contemporary talents in a culturally hybrid space at Expo 2020 Dubai come October.
The pavilion, with the theme ‘Ireland – island of inspiration’, "evokes the great Irish tradition of creativity", says Patrick Hennessy, Commissioner General of the Ireland Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, in an interview with Gulf News.
“We’ll be bringing our visitors right up-to-date with modern developments in terms of technology, but also allowing them the opportunity to see creativity in the arts, crafts, food, fashion and so on,” he adds. “For us, [Expo 2020 Dubai] is a wonderful platform in order to reach a very important audience at this critical time in world history.”
[The theme] evokes the great Irish tradition of creativity. We’ll be bringing our visitors right up-to-date with modern developments in terms of technology, but also allowing them the opportunity to see creativity in the arts, crafts, food, fashion and so on.
Underscoring international solidarity, Hennessy reaffirms Ireland's keenness to join the pressing conversations around sustainable economic recovery, global health and wellbeing, and environmental issues at Expo's thematic weeks, offering the country a chance to re-engage with the world.
Hamilton's quaternions
Etched into the copper-coloured facade of the pavilion is a pair of curious mathematical diagrams in the direct line of sight of the incoming visitor. Upon closer inspection, they will find an accompanying equation marking the entrance.
“It’s the Hamilton's equation – an old mathematical formula that unlocked the basis for dealing with motion in three dimensions,” says Hennessy. Its deviser William Rowan Hamilton, a 19th-century Irish mathematician, discovered the equation while on a walk along the Brougham Bridge, liberating algebra by mutliplying quadruples in a three-dimensional space and not a plane. Today, rotation quaternions are applied to the fields of robotics, navigation and animation.
When asked the reason behind the ‘calculating’ welcome, Hennessy says that the Hamiltonian quaternions sum up the basis of Irish creativity, linking the old with the modern in line with the pavilion's theme of inspiration.
Sun-aligned oculus
Ireland’s single-storey pavilion, designed by state architect Ciaran O'Connor at the Office of Public Works, is comprised of two interlinked structures: the oculus and the garden.
A permanent exhibition space that spans 176 square metres, the oculus houses a seated 360-degree virtual introduction to Irish history through a film, featuring audio-visual projections to deliver a sensory experience. “It will give our visitors the opportunity to visualise what that trip to Ireland that they’ve always promised to themselves might be like,” Hennessy says.
The cone-shaped building stretches skyward with an opening that is most famously seen in the Roman Pantheon dome. However, it is not the ancient Roman relic that Ireland wishes to evoke, rather it is the Irish tomb built in the Stone Age – a monument older than the Great Pyramids and the Stonehenge – called the Newgrange.
“We’re reminding everybody is that our journey of creativity began a very long time ago. Even our ancestors 5,000 years ago were doing some wonderful things in terms of looking at the sun and drawing inspiration and learning from that,” says Hennessy, who adds that the tradition is part of the Irish DNA.
Newgrange is a Neolithic passage tomb situated in County Meath, Ireland, that comes to life every winter solstice morning, the shortest day of the year in December. The pavilion’s oculus skylight takes inspiration from the rectangular opening above the tomb’s passage, through which winter solstice sunbeams slip into the cavity to illuminate the interior, becoming the world's oldest solar clock.
We’re reminding everybody is that our journey of creativity began a very long time ago. Even our ancestors 5,000 years ago were doing some wonderful things in terms of looking at the sun and drawing inspiration and learning from that.
Whether or not the oculus roofbox will catch the winter solstice sun come December this year, visitors will have to confirm that experience for themselves. “One of the main things about this part of the world is that you don’t have to worry about whether the sun will come out. So, I think we guarantee our visitors a very good outcome on that particular point,” he laughs.
Eastern and western architectural hybrid
The pavilion’s secondary structure is a multipurpose performance, events and meeting space that will hold a detailed programme of activities, guaranteeing a warm Irish welcome.
A square within a square perimeter, the garden is Ireland’s take on a fusion of the European cloister and the Arab garden. While the inner square is roofed, the outer perimeter is supported by pillars that hedge the pavilion facade.
“[The garden] symbolises a sense of friendship and opens [for] us an understanding that marks the relation between the Irish and the Arab worlds,” says Hennessy.
Irish music, innovation hub and gallery space
Within the garden, the Irish pavilion will host a calendar of events titled ‘Be Inspired’, bringing visitors performances, talks, workshops and activities across four themes:
- The Irish fantastic: Be inspired by the Irish fantastic, 5,000 years of myth, legend and literature
- The Irish scientific: Be inspired by the Irish scientific, 5,000 years of innovation
- World changers and trailblazers: Be inspired by Ireland’s world changers, trailblazers and diversity
- Global Ireland: Be inspired by global Ireland
Expect to be enthralled by Irish music, dancers and singers headlining the performance calendar at the cloister garden. Besides the entertainment aspect to the events programme, the Irish pavilion will also host an innovation hub, showcasing the country's latest inventions in, for instance, digital and medical technologies.
A dedicated gallery space at the pavilion will give modern Irish arts, jewellery and ceramics a platform as well.
“We’re delighted that our national day, St. Patrick's Day on March 17, falls within the Expo period,” says Hennessy. With the local Irish community in the UAE in tow, the Ireland Pavilion is moving full steam ahead for the celebrations, eager to share with the world the Irish heritage.
Taking inspiration from Expo
Expo 2020 Dubai will mark the first international event of its scale since the coronavirus pandemic – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a revival of sorts that Ireland was determined not to miss.
“Hopefully we’ll come out of the pandemic and in to better times,” says Hennessy. “For the world at large, this will be the first in-person large-scale global event following the pandemic. It’s a time of renewal, it’s a time of coming out to the world, and what better place to do that than here in Dubai.”
For the world at large, this will be the first in-person large-scale global event following the pandemic. It’s a time of renewal, it’s a time of coming out to the world, and what better place to do that than here in Dubai.
Ireland takes inspiration from the way Expo organisers have handled the global outbreak; Hennessy commends the UAE for the remarkable manner in which it has responded to the crisis, restoring stability to ensure that everything will proceed as per plan.
Post-Expo, plans for the Ireland Pavilion are still tentative, but the Irish commissioner general is determined to make sure that the facilities are put to good use following the six-month event run.
- The writer is an intern with Gulf News.
