A large, square button rests beneath the trio of picture frames in animation duo Grade Die‘s new installation at Cologne, Germany’s GOLD + BETON Gallery, begging visitors to press it. When they do, the seemingly static rectangles come alive with projection-mapped lights and shapes designed by the Fun with Fluids animators, to tell the story of a square escaping its two-dimensional fate and becoming a 3D object. That journey earns the installation its name, Squarevolution, but the co-creator Lenny Grade tells The Creators Project that it’s more about humanity’s growth than geometry.
“The switch was placed with the purpose to connect the evolution of the square with a human impulse or, one thought further, to connect the human to the square,” Grade explains. “Everyone knows what it feels like [to experience] what the square is going through.” Accompanied by music from Sascha Jatho, the animation’s aspirational message can be repeated again and again at the impulsive click of a button.
Videos by VICE
Squarevolution premiered at GOLD + BETON on February 6. Follow the story of the evolutionary square in the animation above, and check out the video and images below to get an idea of how the installation works in person.
Visit Grade Die’s website for more of their animated artworks.
Related:
Watch An Animator Discover What Code Would Be Like As A Drink
This Man Is Using Math To Create An Impossible 4D Video Game
Watch A Model’s Face Transform With Projection Mapped Makeup
More
From VICE
-
WWE via Getty Images -
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 16: Asake performs onstage during AfroFuture Festival at Bedrock's Douglass Site on August 16, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) -
Courtesy of author -
(Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
