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Het Nieuwe Instituut invited artist Marcel van den Berg to create a public artwork for Rotterdam's metro stations. Sharing his vision of Black Lives Matter, Van den Berg's display-screen artwork invites travellers to pause and reflect on what the movement means to them.

The starting point of Marcel van den Berg's work is a quote from the speech that music legend Prince gave on 4 March 2000, during the Soul Train Music Awards. On receiving the award for Artist of the Decade for Extraordinary Artistic Achievements, Prince urged the audience to reflect on the deeper meaning of the word 'minority' to cultivate awareness. Van den Berg channels Prince's message in his work Blessed, as he explained when we caught up with him recently.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm a visual artist and I work in the Bijlmer district of Amsterdam. My practice consists mainly of drawings, paintings and some ceramics. I sometimes work as a freelance chef too, and I like building pop-up restaurants in exhibition spaces together with friends. Every now and then I'm a vinyl DJ at parties.

What's the story behind your work on the display screens of Rotterdam's metro stations?

It's based on a quote from Prince, from his Soul Train Music Awards speech in which he talks about 'the rules of the game', referring to the dominant position that the music industry holds over artists. Essentially I tried to reproduce that speech.

What conversation would you like to start through your work?

IIn my view, Prince was way ahead of his time with that speech. He gave the public his vision of modern slavery. Many people feel trapped in systems that they must be part of in order to participate in society. The message I want to convey is pure empowerment. It's a chance to give the traveller a feeling of strength, of autonomy, which is what an artist experiences in the process of creating. The only condition is that traveller take seven seconds to read it.

What does Black Lives Matter mean to you personally?

I find it painful that something like Black Lives Matter is needed. Why should Black people need to indicate that their lives matter? Racism is, in my opinion, a phenomenon that's talked about in order to make a difference between oppressor and oppressed. A misplaced sense of superiority to keep the power where it has been for centuries. My work is strongly influenced by hip hop culture. Through this music, I've known many themes from the BLM movement for years. The sound is just amplified now, and it seems that more people are open to listening to it.

Past, present or future - which has the most influence on your work?

Now is the main thing. The present is often nothing more than a repetition of the past. Some truths are timeless. I recycle the lyrics of songs that touch me, paint covers of albums that have inspired me and do abstract work when I feel that that's what's needed. In all these actions, I see the relevance for the present. The Zeitgeist is only context.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I hope that the images I make contribute to a future in which Black culture is not only valued for things like music, fashion or food, but wins respect for the people who contribute to and are part of this culture. Whether it's in a 'white' office at Weena, the kitchen of a Michelin restaurant or the Hogeschool Rotterdam, it doesn't matter.

You matter and you are blessed!

Marcel van den Berg's work Blessed can be seen in the Rotterdam metro (at Dijkzicht, Blaak, Centraal, Zuidplein, Wilhelminaplein, Schiedam Centrum and Kralingsezoom stations) throughout August 2020.