Laritza Labouche
Laritza Labouche (T.J. Keanu Tario)
Finding Kuʻu Home
Dining Room
Artist Statement
These beautiful Persian tiles from Isfahan, Iran were commissioned by Doris Duke. My music is deeply inspired by paying homage to place and genesis, and I wanted to exemplify it in my music, by using the بیات اصفهان or Bayāt-e-Esfahan modal scales from this region. How lovely it is that these walls get to see a sunset like this every day in Kūpikipikiʻō. As a young child growing up, I have always experienced this museum from Cromwells, on the shores below. Kuʻu Home is "my home" translated in Hawaiian, and I’ve placed Finding in front of it, because like this magnificent art piece at Shangri La, we are always searching and discovering our place—geographically, and in life. Even if we are far away from the shores of our homeland, we seek the same beautiful sunrise and sunset.
Laritza Labouche (T.J. Keanu Tario)
A native of Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu, T.J. Keanu Tario (Laritza Labouche) is a Hawaiian classical pianist, film composer, cultural practitioner by day and drag artist by night. A graduate of The Juilliard School and California Institute of the Arts, their compositions have been performed by ensembles including the New York Youth Symphony & the Attacca Quartet. Television credits include “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and national commercials for ULTA Beauty and Nintendo Switch. They are a Part-time faculty at The University of Southern California. In collaboration with playwright Velina Hasu-Houston, they workshopped a newly composed musical regarding the overthrow and imprisonment of our Queen Liliʻuokalani. Recent performances include performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in drag with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, and composition/directorial debut of "E aha ʻia ana ʻO Mauna Kea" dance premier, sponsored by the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. T.J. hopes to support and uplift Pasifika voices within the film and television industry.
— Laritza Labouche
