A gigantic flamingo installation of seven meters high by the famous Spanish street artist and ‘artivist’ Dulk will be added to the permanent collection of the STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam. From 13th October, 2023, the installation will be the showpiece of the Urban Artivism exhibition , which draws attention to climate change. This route through the entire museum includes 15 works of art by street artists who are committed to addressing this extremely current theme. It is the second project that STRAAT is realizing under the sponsorship of ABN AMRO.
Street art and graffiti are powerful tools for activism that allow artists to express their opinions and advocate for social and political change. In recent years, these art forms have also played a major role in raising awareness of environmental issues and the need to address them.
Giant flamingo
Part of this giant flamingo was on display in Rondalla del Fang , Dulk’s exhibition at the CCCC (Centro del Carmen de Cultura Contemporánea) in Valencia in 2021. The artwork is adapted in a version for STREET and refers to the Albufera nature park, near Valencia, Spain, where these flamingos live and are endangered. The work invites the viewer to become part of an imaginary world full of energy and with a special sensitivity to color. Through this dream world with animals and nature, Dulk tells a personal, universal story. From October 6, the artist and his team will be working live in STRAAT.
Trail for young and old
Painted symbols on the floor guide visitors – young and old – to the various works of art that focus on creating environmental awareness. A special audio tour provides information about the artists and various ‘problematic’ facts to increase environmental awareness. At the end of their visit, children can pick up coloring pages made by Dulk in the museum shop. Through information kiosks in the museum, further attention is paid to various activist stories and important milestones in graffiti and street art history.
About Dulk
Antonio Segura (stage name Dulk), born in 1983, is one of the most important street artists from Valencia, Spain. He started his career with street art and murals, but continues to reinvent himself by constantly exploring new media, including drawing, sculpture and photography. Dulk is known for his portraits of endangered species. Through sculpture, installation and painting, we see his own version of a menagerie of creatures evolve remarkably to avoid conquest or loss of habitat. Environmental stressors resulting from climate change are altering the evolution of many species. In Dulk’s surreal world, this transformation is further enhanced, for example by the addition of tusks and spiky teeth. This allows endangered animal species to avert the negative influence of human hands, as it were, making them impenetrable. Dulk’s portraits symbolically illustrate a history of conflict and greed and encourage the audience to look consciously to the future.
Urban Artivism can be seen from 13th October 2023 to 28th January 2024 in STRAAT at NDSM-Plein 1 in Amsterdam.
