Duhovka

In light of a new administration, I found myself in an in need of an escape. Something that spoke to me was the poetry of Louise Glück. The Wild Iris is a poem tells the story of death and rebirth through the perspective of a flower. I found it beautiful and I felt I could draw a connection to what I was seeing around me and found comfort. At this time I was also finding myself drawing inspiration in the art and culture of Prague, Czech Republic. The beautiful gothic architecture and the incredible night life was a fixation I found myself exploring. With this I came up with the name Duhovka, the Czech word for Iris. 

When it came to writing this piece I needed a catharsis, about a third of the way through the process I saw a number of videos on social media accompanied by an old war poem by Rudyard Kipling called Boots. Every instance of this was used to criticize the new administration and draw attention to the destruction that is actively taking place, and the direct parallels to significant historical tragedies. I knew this is exactly what I needed for this piece. I found place for the poem to be played simultaneously with the piece, creating a the heavy atmosphere and making a statement.