IN THE DARK: AN EXPLORATION OF CHRONIC ILLNESS “KARST” | DanaidX Collaboration

"The dark blue monochromatic nature of the cyanotype prints evokes the way that high levels of pain and exhaustion color and dim the senses, disrupting the formation of clear and distinct memories. Chronic health issues often go hand in hand with trauma, a type of neurological response that occurs when someone feels that their safety is threatened and that they are powerless to change their situation. These experiences are especially common in medical settings where repeated experiences of being unheard can be traumatic even if doctors are good doctors and intend no harm. The vulnerability of these images is an invitation to join in that vulnerability through the work of stretching the imagination beyond pity, beyond judgment, beyond fear."

The Danaid Collaboration (DanaidX) is a Baltimore-based duo formed by Hope Brooks and Angela Yarian. Yarian spent 10 years unable to make work because of a debilitating illness, despite holding a degree in art. Likewise, Brooks, a trans woman, photographer and data engineer, also wrestles with her own chronic pain issues. Emerging from a quest to make art from a place acknowledging present realities, their collaboration resists trying to be more abled-bodies than they are. Through an attentive, slow-moving method of making cyanotypes, they embrace limitations as a fertile ground for creative work, and as a possibility for expanding the dialogue on what constitutes a successful art practice and life.

PRINT