Enter the 6500-year-old forest
Osaka Expo
The Forest of Civilizations was an art installation composed of 133 pieces of subfossil oak, each more than 6,500 years old. These ancient trees represent a unique testament to climate development and the evolution of life on Earth. Each one symbolically represented one of the participating countries of EXPO 2025.
It was the largest installation of its kind in history, connecting the past with the future, and is currently being considered for inclusion in the Guinness World Records. Our company also became the first non-Japanese platinum partner of the official EXPO organizer.
During the first fourteen days, the installation attracted up to forty thousand visitors daily, while social media outreach exceeded 25 million people worldwide. The Forest of Civilizations thus became a recognized concept both in Japan and internationally—a symbol of connection, culture, and shared humanity, widely covered by global media.
In the final months of the exhibition, the installation was visited by dozens of international delegations, including representatives of governments, institutions, and media. Notable visitors included the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Armenian Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan, and John Mucha, grandson of Alfons Mucha.
The project became a true symbol of international cooperation and a reminder that, despite the diversity of cultures, we are united by deep human roots and a shared history.
The Forest of Civilizations will live on—in new forms, in new places, and in the stories it has inspired.
As of March 12, 2026, Subfossil Oak has officially concluded its participation in Expo 2025 as part of the Forest of Civilizations project, following the formal return of the allocated plot to the Expo Association.
The total costs incurred for the project’s participation in Expo 2025 amounted to EUR 11,682,000. All obligations related to the participation have been fully quantified and settled.
Dubai Expo
In front of the Czech Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 Dubai, we installed a set of twelve upright trunks made of subfossil oak, reaching heights of up to 4 meters. This unique installation represented a natural connection between the distant past and the present – an authentic fragment of a landscape thousands of years old, placed within the context of one of the world’s most modern global events.
The 6,500-year-old subfossil oaks were discovered in 2016 in a mysterious underground “forest” at a depth of 6–8 meters in the North Moravian region of what is now the Czech Republic. Thanks to their uniquely mineralized structure, distinctive dark color, and remarkable level of preservation, the trees from this site are rightfully considered among the most valuable wooden materials on our planet.
Each of the displayed trunks carried its own name – after its “brother” or “sister” in the night sky. Through this project, we sought to create a space for reflection on the nature of time itself. The trees, which grew 6,500 years ago, originated in a period when human civilization was only at the very beginning of its development. Compared to their age, modern history represents only a fleeting moment – yet within this brief span, humanity has achieved extraordinary technological and social progress.