رازدارم / rāz dār am (2023)
An evolving body of work, راز دارم (rāz dār am) is an exploration of names and secrets in fibre, poetry, and print. Based on my family name, which means ‘secret keeper,’ in Persian, this project seeks ways to reclaim my cultural heritage. The project is made with manual processes like hand-drawn pattern design, hand-weaving a rug, and hand-folding paper. I work with the material and temporal elements of these labour intensive processes to ellicit and sit with the secret histories and deeper truths that emerge.
rāz dār am tapestry (4 x 5 ft, wool on monk’s cloth) © Darian Razdar / 2021-2022
rāz dār am poster with detail (11x17 in, riso aqua & yellow) © Darian Razdar / 2022
Available for purchase
rāz dār am zine © Darian Razdar / 2021
Available for purchase
The poem in the above zine reads:
From earth into the heavens
constellations too faint to picture
there are certain futures
without border nor wall
hidden gardens
in native lands
where secrets ring
unbound and true.
Twelve months in one year pass
stars make sense
wading thru four seasons
drawing me a map
several secrets
held, dealt, and confessed
dark blue depths entice
incite — mysterious
what lies beyond this tepid
tarn — celestial
perfumed waters reflect
so still my gaze
in one fell plunge
dance stars
among my buoyant body
a revolution collects
in my orbit
whole galaxies whirl in rays
I bathe in such heavenly forms
truth crashes into beauty
and becomes
that special thing.
My secret.
Me.
Other work in this body:
