Derrick Crichlow

schrijven , Objecten , LHBTIQ+ , installatie , Diaspora , Design , Community , Artistiek onderzoek

Derrick Crichlow is a research driven designer. His work involves re-imagining the manifestation of queerness and black diasporic identity present within spaces in Rotterdam, Curaçao and beyond. By utilising research through reading, conversation and writing he makes tangible aspects of the queerness of blackness. By desiring a space where both communities can exist simultaneously he uses design (installation and object) to engage in a process of worlding an alternate reality.

**Donning a Fa(ça)de: The Kapsalon* Barber Chair** - Donning a fa(ça)de acknowledges that the Dutch black barbershop strictly expects masculinity from its visitors. Gender expression in this space is performed, physically represented by the fade: a rigidly angled haircut, characterized by a short stubble. Frequent shop-visits grooms singular black masculinity in its expected weekly upkeep. As a result, assimilationist demands for black manhood are etched deep into the diasporic community, turning the fade into a fa(ça)de. The project reflects on personal experiences across the Netherlands’ barbershops, by re-imagining the chair with queer black people. Through fixated posture, rigid behavior and communication the barber chair and mirror reflect the fa(ça)de. By getting haircuts the designer discovers that the kapsalon enables a potential for black people to freely exist outside of the Dutch norm. Altering the chair expresses the designers’ personal wish to not shrink himself, but to stretch out what “masculinity” portrays by adapting a new posture. Collectivity, intimacy and mutual care are inherent to the salon’s existence. Gratitude for Sofia, Ana Paula, Rafik, River and Faustin.

**A Bald Fade** - This film explores the black barbershop as a staged reality from a queer perspective. What does it take internally and externally to get a crispy hairline and a well blended fade? This film served as a prequel to my ongoing research into the barbershop context in 2025.

**Babe... It's Time To Get A Haircut** - In this text I explore the black barbershop space and the fade, remixing and queering this context while doing so. It uncovers multiple personal experiences with the barber and reflects on how my relationship with getting a haircut goes beyond a love-hate relationship. This essay is part of collective digital zine “Exit Night, Enter Light” published on The Couch, the editorial and artistic digital platform of Het Hem.

**Stomping Down The Street** - Stomping Down The Street: On My Own Off-Rhythm Beat finds a means of silently making noise with my favourite boots, which lost their click sound after heel repair. Through the plastic add-on sonic presence (clack!) and visibility is emphasized, without actually being vocal. Through the reconstruction of an icon, in this case Frank Ocean’s Boys Don’t Cry Magazine, I reworked his method of sharing all that encompasses him silently. Through visual design and text he shares narratives of blackness, queerness, introspection and desire. Re-imagining the clack sound of my boots back is my way of taking back agency on queer and black presence in spaces.

Datum: 18-08-2025 t/m 18-08-2025

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