Finding a way to visualize drivers’ blind spots is, of course, a challenge. But Volkswagen South Africa and Ogilvy Cape Town found an intriguing way to do so—in a country that has one of the highest road accident rates in the world.

The video below begins with a giant black spot, as copy explains that motorcyclists and bicyclists are at particular risk in drivers’ blind spots on the road. It goes on to reveal some compelling statues that were hiding in plain sight all along.

Alex Goldberg, creative director at Ogilvy Cape Town, said the agency came up with the idea in 2017 and built the first prototype during lockdown in 2021. All the pieces finally came together recently. “In the age of AI art and CGI, these installations were crafted by the hands of passionate humans,” he said. “Conceptualized, sketched, sculpted, painted, built and installed by people.”

The paint used in the project, BLK 3.0, was created by Stuart Semple initially as a Kickstarter project. The development of Semple’s paint has its own fascinating backstory, as the British artist developed it initially as a kind of rebuke to fellow artist Anish Kapoor’s exclusive contract to use Vantablack, the world’s blackest black substance at the time.

The VW piece launched in time for Motorcycle Awareness Month in May.