completed april 2023

written for JACK Quartet

instrumentation string quartet

duration 16 minutes

about the piece False Light is a set of three pieces inspired by Chicago artist, Kyree "Spxrit" Saintilus' collection of watercolor paintings of the same name. Throughout the five paintings, the characters stare at the observer, you, with looks of disgust and fear. Why? I had no idea, and this mystery fueled my interest in this piece. This piece is constructed as a collage. Each movement has two sides to it based on its tempi which develop independently from one another. One style is based on the fears and horrors of the created individuals, and the other reflects on the mysterious scenario the characters are avoiding.

"This work was really inspired by my first few years in college and a lot of the stares and glances I was getting on campus and explores the paranoia of constantly being observed", Saintillus said about his piece, "It was really uncanny."

about the artist  Kyree Saintilus is an American illustrator from Chicago, Illinois, focusing on sequential art and animation. These pieces are often fantastical and supernatural short comics that often discuss how individual experiences inform the body, its growth, and its change. His colorful work has appeared in the Chicago Cultural Center, the Black Biennial at the RISD Museum, and the Society of Illustrators.

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