EXPO 2000 - Hi-Life, (Basic Needs)

In 1999, Graham Rawle was invited by Indian scenographer Rajeev Sethi to create an installation for the Basic Needs themed Pavilion at EXPO 2000, the World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany where over 190 nations assembled to embark on the 21st century together. The fair opened to the public on June 1, 2000 and ran five months, ending on October 31. It was attended by over 23,000 journalists and more than 25 million visitors. Reinforcing Germany's commitment to sustainable development, Rawle's 4,000 square foot post-apocalyptic Hi-Life supermarket was designed to illustrate the consequences of excessive consumerism. Surreal scenes offered a provocative image of the affluent society of the west, highlighting our thoughtlessness as consumers. His team spent 12 months preparing the exhibit in a London studio before shipping it to Germany for the 5-week installation. It explored the use of advertising, product design and packaging, promoting hundreds of hand-made products with the Hi-Life slogan, “You Need This!” The supermarket also incorporated specially created audio soundtracks and video loops as well as electro-mechanical pieces coordinated by timers and motion sensors. Headed by Graham Rawle, the project employed the specialist skills of a number of artists and designers including Lucy Vigrass, Miles Donovan, Chrissie Macdonald, Andrew Rae, Graham Carter, Stephen Lenthall, Jenny Bowers, Brendan Walker, Jo Longhurst, Luke Best and Chris Joscelyne and Margaret Huber. Many of these artists were graduates from Brighton’s BA Illustration course. Having enjoyed working collaboratively, they later formed the illustration collective Peepshow.