A unique exhibition that represents human population data through simple piles of rice has made its way to Farnham as part of its worldwide tour.

The installation, Of All the People in All the World, has already captivated audiences in countries including Italy, Egypt, and Brazil, with each iteration tailored to reflect local and global stories.

Statistics about Farnham represented in rice.
Statistics about Farnham represented in rice. (Tindle)

At the Farnham Maltings this weekend, visitors can see the town’s population, the number of births and deaths in 2023, and other local statistics – all visualised as carefully measured piles of rice laid out on sheets of paper across the floor.

With each grain representing one person, the exhibition also presents global statistics, including the total number of refugees worldwide, those killed in the October 7 attacks on Israel, and those killed in Gaza in the ensuing conflict.

While for some it’s a stretch of the imagination to think of each grain of long-grain rice as a person, the real impact comes from seeing how vast or small each pile is in comparison to the others.

The exhibition has been brought to Farnham by Midlands-based theatre company Stan’s Cafe.

The rice exhibition at Farnham Maltings.
The rice exhibition at Farnham Maltings. (Tindle)

James Yarker, the company’s artistic director, said: “We want to mix some humour and more emotionally gripping things that surprise people,

“But we also want to a picture of the world by addressing themes that we encounter in life and across and around the world as well.

“People who come down are often surprised by what they find. They often leave saying they see the world in a new way.”

He said if you see numbers written down on a sheet of paper, it’s difficult to make sense of them, “but here you can see the individuals being referred to in those statistics”.

“People do tear up and they do laugh out loud in the exhibition,” he added.

The number of McDonald's customers each day in the UK (about 3.8 milion) represented in rice.
The number of McDonald's customers each day in the UK (about 3.8 milion) represented in rice. (Tindle)

For the larger piles, they weigh out the rice, with each gram representing 60 people. But for the smaller piles, each grain is meticulously counted by hand.

Peter Glanville, chief executive of Farnham Maltings, said: “It’s been all around the world and so I was very keen to see if there was anyway we could bring them to Farnham and Surrey.

“So I’m over the moon that it’s here. It’s an extraordinary work.”

The exhibition runs until Tuesday, July 15 at the Great Hall in Farnham Maltings. Entry is free, although visitors are asked to make a donation.