Africa Joint Pavilion

151.4 X 126.3 cm     mm/c     2010/10/11

Entering the pavilion and walking along the curving corridor, visitors will learn about development of African countries, urban transformation, economic rise and cultural prosperity in Africa. Visitors will feel as if they were standing between the past and the future of Africa, impressed and inspired. In the central round area for forums, visitors can watch films about urban development in Africa, especially about environmental protection and the use of clean energy in the process of development. These films will tell the world about Africa’s vitality, progress in strides and the contributions of Africa’s harmonious development to world peace and development.

The Africa Pavilion is the largest joint Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo, representing 42 African countries as well as the African Union. At the entrance of the pavilion, a gigantic African primitive sculpture reacts towards a glimmering globe, symbolizing the important role which Africa plays in environmental protection and coordination of world affairs. In this artwork, Dr. Chen collages patterns and elements characteristic to Africa, such as elephants, giraffes, buffalos, masks, bronzes, landscape, and so on. Within the collage shapes, fragments of modern Western paintings appear, enriching the artwork as well as alluding to the legacy of Western colonialism in Africa.