Tuxedo: Vasco 'de' Gama

Tuxedo: Vasco de Gama takes its title from Jean-Michel Basquiats iconic 1982-1983 artwork Tuxedo, a collection of sixteen diagrammatic block pieces that come together to form a figure adorned with Basquiats trademark three-point crown symbol. It highlights reoccurring notions of majesty in his output, as does the tuxedo itself, which is a garment associated with luxury and elegance. A multitude of Basquiats thematic preoccupations are displayed in the intricate hand-drawn and hand-written iconographic detail, encompassing a variety of histories. Indeed, his reference to Vasco da Gama (written as Vasco de Gama), the first European to voyage to Asia by sea, offers a commentary on exploration, and the seeds of globalisation and multiculturalism; two important themes regarding the year 2020.The music moves between bright and buoyant moments of high energy, and expansive stillness, underpinned by the incorporated harmonicas, which also function as a nod to the Blues. Basquiat often drew attention to historical and contemporary matters of the African Diaspora. In a similar fashion, I have included a transcription of Wade in the Water, a traditional African-American Spiritual song, for music box.