La Cumbia
Video, 3:20 min, 1999-2000
La Cumbia is a music genre, popular in Latin America. La Cumbia combines several musical influences; there are tunes of native Indians in the instrumentation (the gaitas), African rhythms in the percussion instruments (the maracas) and Spanish language in the lyrics. Meanwhile, accordion sounds act as a reminder that Latin American musical culture even contains Central European influences - the accordion was introduced to Columbia by German sailors. David Zink Yi’s “La Cumbia” shows dance that is performed by two fingers using the artist’s own body as a stage. The body is painted an alien green colour; only the fingers are left unpainted. The dance of fingers is interruptedseveral times when the hand is acting like a hand should – clapping in the rhythm to the music.
Artist's Bio:
David Zink Yi was born in Lima, Peru, and studied at Kunst Akademie Munich, Universitat der Kunste Berlin, in the master class of Lothar Baumgarten. Zink Yi lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Zink Yi emigrated to Germany as a teenager and has what he calls a “layered notion of identity” which often plays a crucial role in his works. The music is often present in his works is usually more than just a soundtrack – through salsa Zink Yi talks about slavery, colonization and Cuban isolation. Zink Yi’s works have been exhibited in NBK Berlin, Kunstverein Hamburg, Kunst Halle SanktGallen, Johann Koening Berlin and elsewhere. (Z.Z.)