Jorge daCruz- North variations-the twelve- for Fedderico Albanese soundtrack - Charcoal on paper | 120x278cm l © k37 studio, bethanienArtCenter Berlin Apri 2019
The Twelve is a charcoal triptych by Jorge Da Cruz, created as a visual companion to the film of the same name—a collaboration with composer Federico Albanese. The drawing was made in response to Albanese’s piece “North Variations,” part of a soundtrack album shaped around stories of memory, resilience, and ancestral knowledge.
The drawing unfolds across three panels, each carrying its own mood, yet connected by a shared rhythm. On the left, a quiet Nordic landscape stretches out—still, open, and balanced. There’s a sense of harmony here, a gentle coexistence between human presence and the natural world. On the right, the tone shifts. The terrain becomes fragmented. Homes seem unrooted, figures drift across the space. It’s a vision of movement, migration, and dislocation—less about chaos, more about survival.
At the center, two figures stand facing upward, engaged in a gesture that feels somewhere between prayer and conversation. Their arms lift toward the sky, as if speaking to something beyond the frame—asking, hoping, or searching. This moment becomes the heart of the composition: quiet, open, and full of longing. These figures don’t dominate the scene, but they hold it together—connecting earth and sky, the human and the unknown.
Behind and around them, a towering figure rises—part monument, part spirit. It grounds the triptych while holding the tension between the worlds on either side. Still and steady, yet filled with presence, it feels both timeless and deeply human. Like a keeper of stories, it bridges order and disorder, rootedness and change.
The drawing mirrors the feel of Albanese’s music—expansive and reflective, woven from personal stories gathered from across the globe. Each track in The Twelve is connected to someone: elders, artists, carriers of cultural memory. The film brings their movements and voices to the surface, creating a kind of living portrait—quiet, powerful, full of depth.
“North Variations” was inspired by Lyudmila Khomovna, a member of the Uilta people in Siberia. Her presence, for Albanese, embodied warmth in the middle of harshness—a kind of softness that endures even in the coldest conditions. Another track, “The Stars We Follow,” reflects the movements of Japanese master Aoki Hiroyuki. His practice—part martial art, part dance—became for the composer a meditation on purpose, described as “chasing the stars.”
Charcoal becomes the perfect medium for this world. With its density, softness, and grain, it doesn’t just show—it moves. In Da Cruz’s hands, it breathes. The triptych feels vast, but intimate. Silent, but resonant. Each stroke carries weight, building a visual structure that holds memory, space, and story all at once.
Federico Albanese - North Variation (Official Music Video) | "The Twelve" Official Soundtrack
Federico Albanese - North Variation (Official Music Video) "The Twelve" ist ein Soundtrack, aber auch ein eigenständiges Musikalbum. "Es erzählt die Geschichte [von] zwölf Menschen, auch ohne den Film", erklärt Federico Albanese: https://NM.lnk.to/the-twelveID
Die Stücke auf "The Twelve" wecken Gefühle der Meditation und Antizipation, die einen wunderbaren Sinn für das Geschichtenerzählen vermitteln, und zu wissen, was Albanese dazu inspirierte, verleiht ihrem Inhalt nur noch mehr Kraft. Nehmen wir zum Beispiel "The Stars We Follow", ein ebenso sanftes und kontemplatives wie kraftvolles Stück. Mehr erfahren: https://neue-meister-music.com/de/rel...
Artwork: Jorge Da Cruz / Animation: MariaLanowski.com
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