Spirals of duende
Duende is an untranslatable word. In flamenco, it’s not only the energy to inspire us to sing, play and dance, but also the mysterious power to absorb us into the art form. When we mention the word, we’re trying to describe what flamenco is all about, but we ironically face the fact that it’s actually inexplicable in words.
In this portrait, Mykadelica visualises the mysterious energy of flamenco duende in a form of ‘uzumaki’, the Japanese term for spirals. He has taken this word from a horror manga by Junji Ito ‘Uzumaki’. The story is about a series of mysterious incidents caused by supernatural curses in the form of spirals. In the fictional town, the spiral patterns appear everywhere and swallow up the daily life of local people, as if the spirals have their own will.
While the uzumaki in the horror story is rather ferocious, Mykadelica sublimates the concept of spirals into a cosmic force of positive creativity. It’s the interactive energy connecting our inner cosmos to the expansion of outer space. This artwork stylishly captures the flamenco duende as our inspiration and absorption.
‘Duende Uzumaki’ by Mykadelica