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Street festivals and parties are a big part of Caribbean culture, and since the 1960s these events have relied on DJs – and their portable sound systems – to drive the celebrations. On the Colombian coast, these sound machines have become cultural icons; they’re known as picós, and DJs are often referred to as picoteros.

A typical set-up holds turntables, CD players, mixers and more, within a giant speaker cabinet. Fronted with brightly decorated grills, they’re embellished by local artists in phosphorescent spray paint and glitter. The DJ‘s handle usually figures prominently into the design, sometimes even displayed in lights. And the arrival of the picotero and his wildly bedazzled gear will instantly turn a parking lot or streetscape into an impromptu dance hall.

This month, Milan’s Plusdesign Gallery celebrated this colourful tradition with Picós Project, an exhibition of specially commissioned pieces. Five top European talents, including Nathalie Du Pasquier and Dirk Van Der Kooij. have reinterpreted the concept, creating a series of unique speakers.

Dirk Van Der Kooij worked with an engineer to create the Snowman, a 3-D printed speaker set that utilizes a bass reflex pipe to maximize bottom end, and a ball shape that allows optimal radiation of sound waves.

 

Amsterdam artist Boris Tellegen, a.k.a. Delta, made his name as a pioneer in the 1980s grafitti scene and modelled his towering concrete interpretation after hi -rise buildings and tribal totems.

 

While Tellegen’s system uses concrete sheet, Lucas Muñoz – a Spanish designer working out of Eindhoven – cast his in the raw medium. The Meteorite speaker houses the latest sound technology within a hive-like mass of round chambers.

 

World-renowned as a founding member of the Memphis Group, Nathalie Du Pasquier brings the movement’s colourful geometrics to her wooden structure, which fits one of two speakers into a skirt-shaped base.

 

PICO BLITZ, by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, most closely maintains the Colombian tradition. The massive square cabinet is in solid black, with a single white lightning bolt on the sides and the front cover, which is removed to reveal a foil surface. This reflective material displays as a perfect mirror until the bass gets pumping; then, it ripples with the beat to reflect a distorted view of the lights and crowds.

Picós Project runs at Plusdesign Gallery, which is open by appointment, until the end of March.

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