This art installation seeks to convey the far-reaching urban transformation of Bilbao over a 25-year period. It shows how a run-down, environmentally damaged city based on an industrial production system in crisis became one of the most attractive cities in Europe.

It presents the city as a living organism, and enables visitors to look into its urban and architectural past and glimpse its immediate future. The background terrain is depicted through empty spaces and the absence of light, contrasting with the well-lit city. Images of the sea and of mountains are projected alongside the installation as key elements of the personality of Bilbao.

It was designed by Madrid-based artist Esther Pizarro for the Bilbao Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. It was the core feature of the “Bilbao Guggenheim ++” exhibition area, the city’s entry for the Urban Best Practices Area at the Expo

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