Still Life is a graphic work for solo kingma-system (24-tone) flute. The score is presented in totality as a work of visual art, with reference to the Dutch still life paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries. The ‘organic’ composition of this work registers in sight and in sound; as the eye wanders across the score, the ear follows the flautist’s roaming improvisations. The music brings to life that which is inanimate in notation.

This work was written for flautist Saskia Willinge, with her improvisational practice and artistic sensibility in mind. The flowers were gathered by the composer and performer in the indigenous season of Djilba, 2021. Still Life is therefore an archive of place, and each performance a ritualised remembering of suspended time.