{"id":450903,"date":"2025-02-24T14:44:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T20:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/?p=450903"},"modified":"2025-02-24T14:45:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T20:45:01","slug":"cyrah-dardas-paintings-on-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2025\/02\/cyrah-dardas-paintings-on-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Reconnecting with the Earth, Cyrah Dardas Collages Paintings with Handmade Pigments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default entry-header is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-5 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"colo-post-featured-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2266\" height=\"1829\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11.jpg 2266w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11-640x517.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11-960x775.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11-768x620.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11-1536x1240.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-11-2048x1653.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2266px) 100vw, 2266px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Images courtesy of Cyrah Dardas, Shana Merola, Na Forrest Lim, Library Street Collective, and CCS gallery, shared with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group post-title is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><h1 class=\"alignfull wp-block-post-title\">Reconnecting with the Earth, Cyrah Dardas Collages Paintings with Handmade Pigments<\/h1>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-meta is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2025-02-24T14:44:59-06:00\">February 24, 2025<\/time><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms\"><a class=\"category-art\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/art\/\" rel=\"tag\">Art<\/a><a class=\"category-nature\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/nature\/\" rel=\"tag\">Nature<\/a><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/author\/kmothes\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Kate Mothes<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-share-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-visible-labels has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-layout-flex wp-block-social-sharing-is-layout-flex\"><li style=\"color: #1c1e0d; 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\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-mail has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"mailto:?subject=Reconnecting%20with%20the%20Earth%2C%20Cyrah%20Dardas%20Collages%20Paintings%20with%20Handmade%20Pigments&#038;body=Reconnecting%20with%20the%20Earth%2C%20Cyrah%20Dardas%20Collages%20Paintings%20with%20Handmade%20Pigments%20&mdash;%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2F2025%2F02%2Fcyrah-dardas-paintings-on-paper%2F\" aria-label=\"Email\"  class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\">\n\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M20,4H4C2.895,4,2,4.895,2,6v12c0,1.105,0.895,2,2,2h16c1.105,0,2-0.895,2-2V6C22,4.895,21.105,4,20,4z M20,8.236l-8,4.882 L4,8.236V6h16V8.236z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \">\n\t\t\tEmail\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<button class=\"simplefavorite-button preset\" data-postid=\"450903\" data-siteid=\"1\" data-groupid=\"1\" data-favoritecount=\"0\" style=\"\"><i class=\"sf-icon-bookmark\" style=\"\"><\/i>Bookmark<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>From oxidized metals, foraged plants, and botanical inks and dyes, <a href=\"https:\/\/cyrah-dardas.squarespace.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cyrah Dardas<\/a> derives colors and textures from materials found in the earth. Based in Detroit, the artist reflects the juxtapositions of her surrounding landscape in paintings on cotton paper, merging human-made and organic materials in works redolent of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Persian_carpet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Persian tapestries<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In abstract compositions evocative of Georgia O&#8217;Keeffe&#8217;s sensual flower forms or the symbol-rich paintings of <a href=\"\/tags\/hilma-af-klint\">Hilma af Klint<\/a> vis-\u00e0-vis the spiritualist movement, Dardas collages paper painted with handmade watercolors and quilts textiles with hand-dyed fabrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1449\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-960x1449.jpg\" alt=\"an abstract geometric painting on paper featuring an egg-like form in the middle with a dark pointed top, surrounded by a red scalloped border\" class=\"wp-image-450909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-960x1449.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-640x966.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-768x1159.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-1018x1536.jpg 1018w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-1357x2048.jpg 1357w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-8-scaled.jpg 1697w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;For the last few years, I have been thinking a lot about belonging and seeking to understand it through a more loving relationship to place,&#8221; she tells Colossal. &#8220;All of my work as an artist flows from this seeking.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dardas employs the language of abstraction to explore the human psyche and the &#8220;patterns, behaviors, forms, colors, and movements I see in the living world,&#8221; she says. Recently, she&#8217;s been considering the impact of humans seeing ourselves as increasingly separate from both nature and one another, simultaneously fascinated and grieved by the fallacy of individualism\u2014the confusion between the freedom to make good decisions and the perceived right to do whatever we want with no empathy or regard for how it will affect others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In my practice, I ask myself, could I possibly foster some level of reciprocity with any\u2014or all\u2014of the many elements and beings that have brought me here and taken care of me?&#8221; Dardas says. &#8220;In order to do that, I know I need to at least find a way to connect to them differently than the models that modernity offers us. Art is my portal for that, a different type of connection.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dardas invokes ancient, ancestral ways of being in the world by consciously connecting to her natural surroundings. She honors ecosystems and relationships that are naturally cooperative, nourishing, and sustaining, drawing contrasts between processes she views as extractive, like capitalism, patriarchal attitudes, or over-reliance on technology. She uses locally available materials and relies on analog techniques to prepare and process them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1564\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2-960x1564.jpg\" alt=\"a vertical quilted geometric composition made with naturally dyed fabrics, primarily in yellow, blue, white, and red\" class=\"wp-image-450905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2-960x1564.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2-640x1042.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2-768x1251.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2-943x1536.jpg 943w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2-1257x2048.jpg 1257w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-2.jpg 1511w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Describing herself as a &#8220;queer, eco-romantic artist and care worker,&#8221; Dardas examines the nuances of interdependency, growth, and life cycles. Much of her recent work is a reflection of her own pregnancy as she is currently in the &#8220;fleeting baby phase&#8221; of new parenthood. She says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I got curious about other beings that swell and gorge to create life\u2014all the plant bodies of water holding seeds, feeding and nurturing them. I wanted to mirror them, thinking of myself as a gourd, a seed pod, a fruit. Like the many facets and expressions of queerness, I felt the experience of pregnancy was vast and delightfully undefinable, and I wanted to translate that feeling or mirroring into something visual.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Dardas&#8217;s work is on view in the group exhibition <em>Warp and Weft: Technologies within Textiles<\/em>, presented by <a href=\"https:\/\/lscgallery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Library Street Collective<\/a> at The Shepherd in Detroit, which continues through May 3. Find more on her <a href=\"https:\/\/cyrah-dardas.squarespace.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cyrah_power\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1435\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-960x1435.jpg\" alt=\"an abstract painted paper collage on paper with a dark circle in the middle and colorful rays intersecting and extending from it, surrounded by a scalloped border\" class=\"wp-image-450913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-960x1435.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-640x957.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-768x1148.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-1028x1536.jpg 1028w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-1370x2048.jpg 1370w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-10-scaled.jpg 1713w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1082\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749-960x1082.jpeg\" alt=\"a detail of a painted paper collage with a root-like detail\" class=\"wp-image-450911\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749-960x1082.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749-640x721.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749-768x865.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749-1363x1536.jpeg 1363w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749-1818x2048.jpeg 1818w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-5-scaled-e1740413249749.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-960x1347.jpeg\" alt=\"an abstract geometric painting on paper featuring a womb- or droplet-like form in the middle with concentric lines, portrayed on a light pink background surrounded by a neutral scalloped border\" class=\"wp-image-450908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-960x1347.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-640x898.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-768x1078.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-1095x1536.jpeg 1095w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-1460x2048.jpeg 1460w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-7-scaled.jpeg 1824w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1224\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-1-960x1224.jpg\" alt=\"a vertical quilted geometric composition made with naturally dyed fabrics, primarily in bright orange, light blue, dark blue, and peach\" class=\"wp-image-450904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-1-960x1224.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-1-640x816.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-1-768x979.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-1-1205x1536.jpg 1205w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-1.jpg 1557w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-6-960x1280.jpeg\" alt=\"a detail of some painted pieces of paper collaged onto a larger piece of paper\" class=\"wp-image-450907\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-3-960x456.jpg\" alt=\"three painted collages installed on a wall\" class=\"wp-image-450906\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-3-960x456.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-3-640x304.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-3-768x365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-3-1536x730.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-3-2048x974.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1297\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-960x1297.jpg\" alt=\"an abstract painted paper collage with a maroon-and-blue geometric pattern in the center, surrounded by an ornate border\" class=\"wp-image-450912\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-960x1297.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-640x865.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-768x1038.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-1137x1536.jpg 1137w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-1516x2048.jpg 1516w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-9-scaled.jpg 1894w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-4-960x1437.jpg\" alt=\"artist Cyrah Dardas making natural pigment with yellow flowers\" class=\"wp-image-450910\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-4-960x1437.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-4-640x958.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-4-768x1150.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-4-1026x1536.jpg 1026w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/dardas-4.jpg 1368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dardas invokes ancient, ancestral ways of being in the world by consciously connecting to her natural 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