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About this Piece

As a DJ and musician, I have long been interested in many of the musical traditions from Latin America, but this concert was outside of my scope of reference. It was rewarding to experience something so different from what I know and to see and hear certain instruments, such as the bongo and marimba, used in these more avant-garde contexts. The work by Gabriela Ortiz, Tin-Tan Fanfarria y Mambo, particularly resonated with me. I liked the way it abstracted the sound of mambo, taking something familiar and changing how I perceive and receive it. I often try to do something similar in my practice as a visual artist. In my abstract paintings, I draw on familiar symbols, shapes, and imagery, transforming them into compositions that add new layers of meaning and interpretative possibilities.

My work for this project, Tin-Tan, is part of a long-standing informal series of small paintings made with gouache on paper. While Tin-Tan Fanfarria y Mambo features only a single trumpet player, the music seemed to fracture into a kaleidoscopic sound of horns, and my painting is a visual reflection of that sonic experience. —Eamon Ore-Giron