THE ARTIST
the practice
the investigation
selected work
Artist cv
Inquires
My name is
Ryan “raza-ry” rhodes
I’m an ARTIST
Photographer. Writer. Creative Engineer. World Builder.
Raza-Ry is an artist interested in people, systems, and the forces that shape who we become.
He has been building worlds for as long as he can remember—first through homemade comics, cameras, graffiti, clothing, and experiments with design and technology, and eventually through photography, writing, film, books, physical objects, and participatory experiences.
Rather than working within a single medium, Raza begins with an idea and finds the form it requires.
His background in engineering reinforces a lifelong tendency to look for patterns and connections:
Systems within systems. Worlds within worlds.
His work often begins with his own experiences, relationships, contradictions, and unanswered questions, using them as material to investigate a larger question:
What shapes a person…
and how much of what comes next can we shape ourselves?
Through each project, Raza creates conditions for people to encounter themselves.
Sometimes it’s writing.
Sometimes it’s a photo.
Sometimes it’s a film, book, object, or something you can wear.
Sometimes the idea needs an entire room.
My practice moves between mediums depending on what the work requires.
THE idea comes first.
then i find the form.
PHOTOGRAPHY
WRITING
FILM
BOOKS + OBJECTS
EXPERIENCES
Different mediums. Same investigation.
[ARTIST STATEMENT]
I CREATE CONDITIONS
FOR PEOPLE TO
ENCOUNTER THEMSELVES
I’m interested in the tension between what is given to us and what we choose for ourselves.
Family. Environment. Technology. Culture. Memory. Relationships. Failure. Desire. Luck.
The people we meet and the things we survive all leave something behind.
Much of my work begins by examining those influences and asking how much of what we call identity was actually chosen.
[ARTIST CV]
Selected Projects
Artist Books + Publications
Exhibitions + Screenings
Talks + Panels
Education