A month ago I traveled to the UK for the first time to meet my agent @handsome_frank in person after working together remotely for almost 2 years now. During my visit I was able to see the new @h_f_h_q and record this episode of the #HandsomeFrankPodcast. Listen to us chat about art and our relationship over the past almost 2 years. Link is in my story posts 🙏🏾
📸 🎥 : @dariodesign
It was brought to my attention that some people are still not aware of the Collage Creator emulator on my website so here’s a fresh update.
On my page hit the link to collagecreator.dakaraiart.com to create your own custom collage using cuts that I hand cut myself from my personal stash and loaded into the image gallery. Since I’m updating you on this now I’ve now added over 80 new cuts to the gallery!
Step 1: Clear the pre generated collage to set your blank canvas
Step 2: Click the image gallery in the top left corner of the dashboard and select your cutouts
Step 3: Organize your collage - Change the layer orders by touching each layer, minimize and maximize the scale by dragging the corners of each layer.
Step 4: When completed, click the ink dropper to change the color of your canvas
Step 5: Screenshot your collage and save to your photo gallery on your device
Show us what you came up with. Use hashtag #dkcollagecreator when posting your masterpiece.
CAUGHT FIRE,
2026
12x16in
Paper collage mounted on watercolor paper
I originally titled this “CAUGHT FIRE” because I feeling myself after making this piece but then I realized that title had a much deeper meaning than an ego stroke for myself.
“Dada was an art movement formed during the First World War in Zurich in reaction to the horrors and folly of the war. The art, poetry and performance produced by dada artists is often satirical and nonsensical in nature.” CAUGHT FIRE feels like a scene in a Christopher Nolan film exploring the melding of two different planes. The physical realm and the spiritual. The 3rd dimension bleeding into the fourth. The smaller central figure being a man on fire confronting a mystical looking doorway points this scene in the direction of what the afterlife could be like. The hero of the composition centered with his face obstructed by colorful and fluorescent geometric shapes shows signs of divinity and adoration. Surrounded by disciples or spiritual guides for the burning man, my thoughts lean towards this scene being a brief moment of the passage to our next life.
This composition is densely packed with layers to show that these works are becoming bigger than two dimensional windows into another world. They are now the worlds coming to life. Living and breathing behind the glass they are housed in bringing on new meanings from any angle you choose to view it from. The technique used in these works is equally as important as the context behind each layer that builds the story. The shadows have now become part of the narrative effectively turning these compositions into physical and natural mixed media.
UNTITLED or CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT, 2026
9x14in
Paper collage mounted on watercolor paper
I’ve been in Inglewood for 4 years now. Having not grown up here and not being aware of the way this city used to be before all these changes it’s still very apparent how much gentrification is ravaging this city. Having conversations with natives who’ve spent their whole lives here you can hear it in their voices how deeply these changes are affecting them. Driving down Manchester, Prairie and Century you see these big ugly ass billboards everywhere constantly trying to sell you something. What exactly are these doing for the city? (Rhetorical question) How man people’s history are they building these billboards, stadiums and dystopian looking unaffordable apartment buildings atop of? How many Inglewood natives stories are suffocated underneath all of this “growth” all in the name of the 2028 Olympics?
B*rn down your local AI data center
A.ISFOR4NARCHY, 2025
Mixed media collage on water color paper
23x29in
This conversation started with us discussing thoughts around technology and how we’ve gone beyond the point of no return with technological advancement. With AI being the most recent leap in evolution for us as a society, the thought that it’s only in its infancy stage is honestly horrifying. Not due to the technology itself but from our own motivations and ethics. Are we using it as a tool for building a better future or are we using it to contribute to our own demise?
By the end of this conversation we were able to break this subject wide open and pinpoint even more related topics such as ‘Environmental Racism’. Look at Elon Musk’s supercomputer xAI COLOSSUS that is creating an insanely toxic environment for the black community in Memphis, TN that its stationed in. “The facility’s behemoth methane gas turbines increase Memphis’s smog by 30-60% as they belch planet-warming nitrogen oxides and poisonous formaldehyde around the clock, pollutants linked to respiratory and cardiovascular disease.” Our leap in tech over the last decade has been insane to say the least. But at what cost? Who benefits from this and who will ultimately be paying for it with their lives? Burn it down? 🔥🍾
A.ISFOR4NARCHY is a mixed media collage on water color paper densely packed with layers on top of clear beads to elevate the composition adding depth that lets you know this is a living breathing piece of art. This is my first attempt at a new collage technique for myself using scale and negative space to my advantage.
I remember years and years ago the first time I flew to LA to visit my cousin; right before we landed. That last 15-20min of flying into the city you can see the desert climate change to mountains then the valleys and ocean way off into the distance. The first thing I said to myself was “I’m gonna live here one day.” I’ve been in love with the west ever since. Having access to all these different landscapes and terrains within an hour drive in any direction has always been like heaven to me. I knew it before the plane touched the ground that I’d be back here for good one day.
What came with that decision to move out west was the incredible opportunities I’ve been afforded in my career as an artist. Experiences I’ve had here in LA are some that I know I’d never have anywhere else. I’m forever a student to art and living in LA has been like being in grad school with the amount of knowledge I’ve gained over the years. I’m doing a lot of talking but what I’m getting at is that I’ll forever be grateful for what I’ve been blessed with her during these 8 long years in my new home. The goal is to take that knowledge and use it along with my gifts to add value to my community and everywhere my presence is felt. Being a transplant here knowing I’m taking up space is something that is not lost on me so while I’m here I wish to leave this place better than I found it. Not just for me but for all.
