| Formulation dissects the earliest phase of rock & roll’s transformation—from a raw, African-rooted sound labeled “race music” to a sanitized, radio-friendly genre repackaged for white America. Before it was called rock & roll, the music was confined to underground stations and marginalized audiences. But with strategic tweaks and relentless publicity, a “whiter” version emerged—marketable, palatable, and poised to sweep the nation.
The dragon, rendered in vibrant blues and greens, embodies the original pulse of African musical tradition: fierce, flowing, and mythic. Yet it’s partially obscured by holly leaves—a sly nod to Buddy Holly, whose band The Crickets helped usher in this new formulation. Floating through the sunrise hues is Jiminy Cricket himself, a tongue-in-cheek reference that fuses Disney innocence with pop-cultural irony. Together, “Holly and the Cricket” become a coded commentary on appropriation, branding, and the moral theater of mainstream music.
Mathematical notations and mandala-like structures in the background suggest a hidden system—a calculated logic behind the transformation of sound into commodity. The rhinestones, embedded throughout, shimmer like echoes of the original rhythm, refracted through layers of abstraction and reinvention.
Formulation doesn’t just depict a moment—it critiques it. It’s a surreal allegory for how cultural power is shaped, masked, and sold—yet still survives beneath the surface, waiting to be heard again.
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