As part of the exhibition In Frequencies We Cannot Name: Language, Sound, Silence, Younes Baba-Ali presents Multiculturalism/Multicommunitarism (2014). In addition, the sound installation Everyone Is Called Mohamed (2014) by Baba-Ali can be experienced on the square at Nes, realised in collaboration between de Brakke Grond and the Warmoestraat Biennale.
Multiculturalism/Multicommunitarism
Multiculturalism/Multicommunitarism is an illuminated LED sign that alternates between the two words, creating a rhythm marked by subtle dysfunction. In this intervention, the artist reuses a familiar element of the urban landscape — the illuminated signage of neighborhood shops (call shops, night shops, butchers, etc.). By appropriating the visual language and advertising function of these signs, the work challenges passers-by and raises questions about the tensions and consequences of multicultural societies.
Everyone Is Called Mohamed
Everyone Is Called Mohamed is a subtle sound installation situated in public space. Repetitively calling out “Mohamed” — a name whose popularity is unmatched globally and which, across many Muslim cultural contexts, is sometimes used to address or refer to an anonymous or generic male figure — the work engages a broad audience. By its very nature, the piece invites interaction and reaction, provoking an instinctive bodily response to the call and activating the surrounding space through listening, recognition, and projection.
The presentation of Multiculturalism/Multicommunitarism and Everyone Is Called Mohamed in the very center of Amsterdam situates the works at the heart of urban negotiation. Located at the intersection of tourism, commerce, and layered urban histories, the Nesplein embodies the tensions inherent to contemporary multicultural European cities. Positioned in the window facing the square, Multicommunitarism engages the visual grammar of the city, while its subtle dysfunction destabilizes the promise of coherence implied by multicultural discourse. Extending this tension, Everyone Is Called Mohamed activates Nesplein sonically through repetition and address, operating between anonymity and recognition. Together, the two works function as a dispersed diptych, where visibility and audibility intersect to question how names, bodies, and communities are positioned within the hypervisible yet transient landscape of the city.
About the collaboration between the Warmoes Biënnale en de Brakke Grond.
From 7 March to 3 May 2026, the first edition of the Warmoes Biënnale takes place in the historic heart of Amsterdam. For two months, artists, entrepreneurs, cultural institutions and local residents come together to show what is alive in the neighbourhood. With artworks in unexpected locations and a wide-ranging programme of events, the biennale invites visitors to rediscover this distinctive part of the city.
De Brakke Grond joins the Warmoes Biennale with work by Younes Baba-Ali. Multiculturalism/Multicommunitarism (2014) is presented in the exhibition In Frequencies We Cannot Name: Language, Sound, Silence (on view from 7 March to 10 May). In addition, Baba-Ali’s sound installation Everyone Is Called Mohamed (2014) can be experienced on the square at Nes.
