DB Amorin

(Jersey City, NJ [Lenapehoking])

"long shadow"

"long shadow" is co-presented with and commissioned by Third Angle New Music. Third Angle New Music’s mission is to perform, present, and record adventurous contemporary sonic works while commissioning new works from a diverse spectrum of composers.

INSTRUCTIONS / DETAILS

Meet up at the Umbrella Man statue at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Arrive before the 10:00 am start time to purchase your MAX ticket
RSVP in advance to recieve the audio file
Bring headphones and a device to listen with

The audience is invited to arrive at Pioneer Square in Downtown Portland at 10:00 am to join artist DB Amorin and fellow travelers ahead of departure for a brief introduction and chat about "long shadow," an audio experience for the MAX Red Line. The audience will board the following MAX Red Line car towards Portland International Airport, and embark on personal sound journeys alongside one another, using their own data-capable devices** to access "long shadow," the streaming audio composition. Upon arrival, the audience will disembark and can choose to engage in a short group decompression & reflection.

**This is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) event! Registered audience members will receive a link to the audio file in advance of the event and are encouraged to download the composition ahead of time, or bring a data-capable device and headphones of your choice to experience the streaming audio composition. Limited wired headphones (standard 3.5mm jack & Apple lightning) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

This is a free event, but guests must purchase a Trimet ticket to ride the RedLine. Please register if you plan to attend. The duration of the one-way ride from Pioneer Square to PDX is approximately 40 minutes. Attendees are encouraged to use public transportation to arrive or factor downtown parking availability into their schedule.

DESCRIPTION

DB Amorin's "long shadow" is a 45-minute soundwalk composition inspired by the sustained yearning to revisit former homes (Kahalu'u, O'ahu; Portland, Oregon) during the COVID-19 lockdown, a longing which over time became its own interior landscape to traverse. Nostalgia for the transition between summer and fall on the Windward side of O'ahu, Hawai'i loomed large over the course of the pandemic. It is a time when the orographic lift of the Ko'olau mountain range creates a type of daily micro-climate with a unique, fleeting ambiance. There, the heaviness of summer’s humidity dissipates, replaced by a deeper iridescence.

Much like Portland’s brilliant summers that seem to emerge from nowhere and fade just as quickly, these ephemeral environments we long for shift over time, and move into something different. We ache for their return, and when they do, we discover what was true about them then may not be true any longer. Spatio-temporal displacement, transitional spaces and the desire to return to that which may no longer be familiar to us serve as points of departure for this layered audio experience. The composition is designed to trace the path of the MAX Red Line from the urban center of Portland to the Portland International Airport: a contemplative space encased in physical movement, the first step towards an unreachable there, a conversion of the present into past and experience into memory.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

DB Amorin (b. Honolulu, Hawai'i) is an interdisciplinary media artist who explores audio-visual non-linearity as a container for intersectional experience. He frequently emphasizes the generative role of error as an opportunity for creation, resulting in media-centered projects driven by DIY methodologies, lo-fi translations, and persistent, inquisitive experimentation with available materials.

His work has garnered awards from esteemed organizations, including the Jersey City Arts Council, Oregon Arts Commission, the Ford Family Foundation, Regional Arts & Culture Council, the Precipice Fund grant funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Calligram Foundation and administered by Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). His visual art, performances, curatorial & collaborative programming have been presented internationally at A4 Arts Foundation; the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival; Onassis Foundation; ICA at MECA&D; Luggage Store Gallery; Soundwave ((7)) Biennial; PICA; Portland Art Museum; the Honolulu Museum of Art; Honolulu Biennial 2019.