Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoraye Cyrus.
Hi Zoraye, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a multidisciplinary studio artist who has received my BFA in Drawing and Illustration at the University of Central Florida in 2019. I have had several shows throughout the central Florida region and I am the recipient of the Women in the Arts 2019 Award. I got to where I am by trusting the process of working and making over overthinking.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most challenges I faced were internal. Self-sabotage or questioning if I was smart enough to create the pieces I made. I would, and sometimes still do, get stuck in the thought process of an art piece that I would hesitate to actually make the piece in fear of it coming out “wrong.” It has taken some time for me to realize that there is nothing “wrong” with the process; the only wrong thing is sitting there and thinking without making it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a black woman, I am investigating my own interpretation of blackness based on my southern upbringing and relating personal experiences to overarching struggles within the African American and Afro Caribbean communities. A therapeutic and cathartic expression of self exposes underlying systems and conceptions that reflect a common upbringing that expands beyond generations of black people.
My work brings to light problems with colorism, incarceration, identity, and perception and as I implore my people to face these difficulties, I also encourage the celebration of black bodies, black women in spaces outside of struggle. Bringing forth our caring and supportive nature that juxtaposes our distinguished identity of self, aspects that have aided in the growth and sustenance of our community and urban culture.
Through the use of different forms of charcoal to portray the black body, I showcase variations in which blackness can be perceived by us and “others.” I am fascinated with the different forms of charcoal having varying degrees of darkness or “blackness” and how the mediums bring out the richness of the pigments of pastel around it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t consider myself lucky. I consider that all things that happen to me, whether good or bad, has happened for a reason. And it’s easier to say that when you do win a grant or are accepted into an exhibition. But I consider all bad “luck” as an opportunity to learn a lesson that can be applied in the future. If I do believe in luck, I would say I have been extremely lucky to have amazing mentors and fellow artists who influence me and challenge my thinking. I am lucky that my time at UCF was spent around so many great professors and classmates to who I stay connected to this day.
Pricing:
- 50
- 75
- 500
- 2000
- 3500
Contact Info:
- Email: zorayecyrusstudio@gmail.com
- Website: https://zorayecyrus.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zorayecyrus1/
Image Credits
1st photo is from Women In the Arts 4th photo is from Morean Art Center by Beth Reynolds
