Dutch, More or Less: Contemporary Architecture, Design and Digital Culture
Dutch, more or less is an exhibition about thirty years of design from the Netherlands. Up-and-coming designers have been invited to create new work for this exhibition, offering a glimpse into the future of (Dutch?) design. The first in this series of temporary installations is Pedestrians by Black Childish, on view from 1 June to 3 November 2024.
A traffic light that metamorphosises with a caterpillar and butterfly
Black Childish (Mickaël Mehala) is a digital artist and illustrator from Martinique, now based in Amsterdam. He often returns to his Caribbean roots in his work, depicting the culture, nature, and characters from his home island in a playful, color-soaked style.
This installation, while drawing from common Dutch designs—in particular, the striped traffic lights found thoughout the country—examines the duality between the unappealing and the beautiful as it hosts both a caterpillar and the butterfly it will metamorphosise into. Using these Martinican motifs, which often reappear in his work, he speculates on a future for Dutch design by referencing how new artistic movements disrupt existing ones in ongoing cycles.
Pedestrians Visuals: Black Childish; Sound: Juliana Erazo