Collage
Dakarai Akil
Dakarai Akil describes the act of collage as destroying and then building upon that rubble. His work is elegantly arranged, slightly asymmetrical, and moves with the rhythm of jazz. Grounded in Afrosurrealism, Akil explores the experience of what it means to be Black in today’s world.
In the Words of the Artist
Collage
My work and practice to me is largely about being a collector and a student of art. My personal definition of collage is destroy and build, build and destroy. Being resourceful by repurposing and recontextualizing found imagery to create a whole new narrative. Afrosurrealism is taking the absurd experience of being Black in today’s world and creating visual stories with it. Surrealism in itself is playing with the absurd. Afrosurrealism is a specific take on surrealism through the lens of Black culture.
Collage
Preserving my own voice with commission projects isn’t as much of a challenge as one would think, to be honest. The majority of the time, clients come to me for my style and my approach to collage specifically. Early in my career as a freelance illustrator, with the types of projects I would get, it felt as if I was put in a box as the Black collage artist whose work is associated with protest and activism. I didn’t mind it, but I think AD’s see my work and think of radical movement-driven projects being my style. Which isn’t wrong, but it does allow me to be authentically myself and not be afraid of letting my voice be heard through the work.
Collage
Collage
There have been a handful of times when the back-and-forth have completely changed my original thinking for a project, and when that happens it's a huge disappointment. Something you’ll notice in my work is there is always a red square near the top right-hand corner of the composition. That is my signature so any time you see a collage if that red square isn’t there, I didn’t make it. What I’ve had to do only a couple of times is when the project gets too far away from my vision in order to please a client, I removed or just never included the red square at all to disassociate the piece with my work. So there are a couple of works out there that I’ve completed for brands that I don’t love.
Collage
Collage
About the Artist
Dakarai Akil is a Los Angeles-based collage artist and illustrator originally from Cleveland, OH. Specializing in collage and design, he has self-published three art books that chronicle his works from 2014 to 2021. Over the past decade, Dakarai has exhibited his art in numerous group and solo exhibits with Band Of Vices and Context+Projects in Los Angeles as well as commissioned works with prominent brands such as The New York Times, Postmates, Serato, Billboard Magazine, Netflix, and many more. Akil has also participated in international artist residency programs in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Chiang Mai, Thailand, doing creative community work on a global scale.
Dakarai's compositions are intimate explorations of Afrosurrealism, offering viewers a unique perspective that challenges conventional worldviews. His work emphasizes color, shape, and composition to create distinct and thought-provoking visual conversations through his lens.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
What to watch, read, and experience, as curated by the Collé team.
KARA WALKER (b. 1969) is an American contemporary artist best known for her large-scale, room-size cut-paper silhouettes. Her work uncompromisingly explores the brutal legacies of race, gender, sexuality, and violence in the American South.
ARANTXA is a Spanish collage artist working in vintage paper and mixed media, building work out of found and forgotten photographic material.
MAHA HMAYED is a Lebanese Detroit-based mixed media analog collage and lens-based artist. She channels inspiration from the ethereal realms of her dreams, working intuitively and tapping into her subconscious mind through the exploration of the human psyche, desires, fears, and the interpretation of symbols.
MARSHALL BROWN works across art and architecture. His work is held in permanent collections at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago.
THAIS SILVA uses a mixture of technology and black culture in a rendition of her unique Afrofuturistic worlds. She uses vintage images of historical indigenous people, beautifully transcribed into hopeful and harmonious universes of the future.
Out and About
What to watch, read, and experience, as curated by the Collé team.
▼ WATCH
Romare Bearden: A Life in Collage Directed by: Deborah Riley Draper
In his lifelong fight to forge a Black identity, Romare Bearden, an artist, athlete, and activist, challenged cultural gatekeepers. This film traces the unseen odyssey of one of America’s greatest artists, as he used art, community, and collective memory to disrupt who holds the power to define American history and the value of Black creativity.
▼ READ
The Queer Surrealists Who Fought Nazis With Paper Bullets
Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore shared a magnificent life as both romantic and creative partners, one in which gender proved as mercurial as the political climate of World War II.
▼ LISTEN
I Can See by Ralfi Pagan
Pagan's fourth and final Fania album is a striped down eight songs, opening with a Smokey Robinson cover.
