ARTIST STATEMENT
Sonic art is the foundation of understanding myself in the world and in my skin. I am the product of a culture deferred–a simultaneous mixture of erasure, mutation, and plurality. Being a Black Bi-racial American cultivates a complex perspective that is ever present in my approach to processing through sound. My work is the evolution of black cultural traditions- music, history, and poetry. The unpredictable nature of being Black in America parallels my focus on the music of the now with reaction, voice, and word as my foundation. I use improvisation to explore the lyrical and guttural sounds of my body, and to deconstruct text into sound components in order to convey attitudes, attributes, and connotations. In composition, I instruct the performer to find their most authentic self through their instruments. This process is conveyed through graphic, text-based, and notated scores, allowing the musician the autonomy to interpret how they perceive this subject. With words, I orate a narrative reflecting my unique perspective as a Black American, queer woman. I enhance all of these facets with electronics into a synthesized immersive soundscape. My sonic practice is created with the mindset of congregation and community; to share and expand a culture rebirthed; a culture healing.

BIO
Shara Lunon is the product of the evolution of Black American musical traditions. As a poet, vocalist, composer, and improviser, her art finds the ethereal in the chaotic. With voice and electronics as the foundation, Lunon’s music is an exploration of text and sound that seamlessly weaves through the ongoing relationship of struggle, resilience, and resolution. Her goal is to challenge lassitude and in its place, instill hope. Her work has been featured in The Gothamist, commissioned by the Metropolis Ensemble, and has won residencies with A+J Productions, and the OneBeat Initiative. Lunon has collaborated with creators including Darius Jones, Ches Smith, Joy Guidry, Chris Williams, Lesley Mok, and Laura Cocks.