De Kraak is a cross-border multimedia installation designed in the language of the sea. Visitors enter a transitional area where old stories from the Wadden Sea area, the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world, are set in a contemporary context of overfishing, rising water levels and the consequences of endless economic growth. It is a playful visual performance about the past, present and future of our relationship with the sea, told as a love story.

The protagonist of the installation is the Kraken, a mythical giant octopus that drags ships down with its tentacles. The Kraken guides visitors on their journey and is always present in the background in one way or another, loving or menacing.

IMMERSIVE UNDERWATER WORLD

The exhibition installation takes the visitor into an underwater atmosphere. Eight shell like structures function as viewing theatres. The physical appearance of the modules and hoods show the essence of folding, unfolding and enclosing, resembling the natural appearance of shells. This draws the visitor into a strong connection to the message of the exhibition. A lively water projection connects all elements.

Visitors also encounter a 360 ̊ VR experience and a periscope. They present the unique character of the Wadden Sea in an imaginative way: its origins, dynamics and inhabitants and the way in which we are connected to it.

A soundscape fills the space through a series of ‘audio eyes’. Their design is a cross between waving sea grass and the ‘lantern’ of an angler fish. They overlook the space and keep an eye on the visitors. Their pupils are speakers filling the space with a mesmerising and continuously changing soundscape.

URGENCY DEFINES FUNCTIONALITY

The immersive, interactive nature of the exhibition strengthens the focus on the urgency of thinking about man’s relationship to nature. The playful design brings all ages together and reinforces awareness. The arrangement of the exhibition elements can be flexibly adapted to the space, allowing the plan to shrink and expand depending on its location.

INNOVATIVE THEATRICAL SETUP

De Kraak is a transregional exhibition, both in display and content, where each story is a cooperation between a stop-motion artist and a composer. It involves a number of educational projects, connecting schools to the subject. The theatrical setup is especially suitable for this group. The narrative and imaginative character of the exhibition appeals to the imagination in an open way.

LONG-TERM AND CIRCULAR EXHIBITION

For a number of years De Kraak will travel along the coastal regions of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Almost every part of the circular design of the wooden installation is spherical, making it friendly and accessible. The seats the visitors watch the films on are made of shells from the Wadden Sea.

Storytelling has always connected human beings. This exhibition is an effort to use that to address man’s most important challenge.