CYRA's art is going places she's never been

Written and edited by Anaati Yusuf & Jeremiah "Mansah" Abu

Visual artist, Chidinma Yemisi Mordi also known as, CYRA stands out for her vibrant and unique blend of her African- Nigerian background, into her art style, which she terms, ‘Afro-Mandala.’ Chidinma is not only a visual artist, but an Architect, a writer, a guitarist, a crocheter, and the list goes on. What can’t she do?–A multifaceted queen! In this interview, Chidimma gives us a glimpse into her creative journey, inspirations, routine, and the craziest thing she’s done as an artist. So, stay tuned.  

Chidinma with her paintings (photographed by Ante Emmanuel)

Hello Chidinma, nice to have you on the show

Happy to be here.

Firstly, I’m a big fan of your work. I really love the signature gold patterns that most of your paintings have, a signature you’ve termed “Afro-Mandala", I would like you to tell us more about this style and also what does Cyra mean, is it a nickname?

No, it’s not a nick name, CYRA is a compilation of all my names. So my name is Chidinma Yemisi Ruth Adeola, when you put that all together, it spells out CYRA. My signature pattern style “Afro Mandala”, as I like to call it lol, takes a lot of influence from my background in architecture. When I started the patterns used to be more straight, solid structured, but as I continued painting it evolved. If you look at my older paintings, you would see they were more fixed patterns whereas now, it’s more circles, flowers and all that. I find this style of painting very therapeutic and when I did my research I found out Mandala paintings were associated with therapy. I named my style “Afro Mandala" because I feel like it exudes black excellence, I’m sure sometimes people see it and go “Wakanda” lol.

Your brother is an amazing creative as well, would you say your family background shaped the artist you are today?

Yes, absolutely. So, growing up I used to draw a lot and my parents would always tell me the story of how as a kid I would draw on the walls and at some point, they got so tired of repainting the walls that they just let me be. They also saved and laminated a lot of my drawings and kept them in folders. I honestly can’t talk about my artistic journey without mentioning the support I received from my parents. I remember when I was just starting to take my art more seriously, my dad would take me to get my paintings framed without having breakfast, and he’d just sit there in the car hungry, without complaining or getting angry, and wait patiently, till I framed every single piece. It was cause of times like that, I named my first ever art exhibition “Onyemaechi”- which is my father’s name and translates to “Who knows tomorrow”.

Some of Chidinma’s earliest art works

That’s really amazing, your dad is awesome. Talking about your first exhibition, it was at Discovery Museum Abuja, and I think that’s big, because it’s not typically the place to do a “first” exhibition, maybe a “second” or a “third” but not really a first, however, you came in with a bang and your second exhibition followed, titled “Give tomorrow a chance”- what’s your obsession with tomorrow lol.

Lol, “Give Tomorrow a Chance” was sort of an encouragement for me at that time in my life, you know because I felt a little discouraged. I used to tell myself that something great can happen tomorrow, so give tomorrow a chance, and that was around my birthday, so I chose to have the exhibition on my birthday as a way to celebrate myself and combat the birthday blues. Concerning my first exhibition, yeah it was big, but I can’t even take credit for that because it was all God. I strongly believe in God’s hand upon my life and that exhibition was orchestrated by him.

 You speak about God quite a lot. How would you say your faith influences your art?

I like to pray before I start a project so that the idea I have is, you know, out of this world. I had a very distinct experience in 2022 before I released my very first NFT collection of fifty. It might sound crazy, but I actually slept and dreamt about the first piece, the pilot piece that led to the whole collection. I acknowledge that it didn’t come to me by accident and was a sort of divine intervention, ended up selling out in a week—all fifty. 

Chidinma surrounded by her art

That is so profound, Chidinma. It seems like your faith has really pushed you to take great leaps. Speaking of leaps, what is the craziest thing you’ve done on your creative journey so far?

I don’t know if it’s crazy to some, but quitting my job as an architect and going full-time as an artist was actually crazy, because I legitimately didn’t know how I was going to survive. I just kind of trusted that, you know, God who was leading me on that path, will sustain me. So that’s the craziest thing I’ve done so far. 

It all appears to have paid off, you were selected to do the label design for the Davido x Martell limited edition bottle, you published your own kids colouring book and illustrated some of your literary icons in Tani series’ “I am a Nigerian in Literary arts” children’s book, how was all that for you?

I’m really grateful for the growth, when I started taking my art seriously back in 2015, I sold my first art piece for 5,000 naira, and I was so excited, I’m so grateful to go from there to where I am now. I feel like the Tani series was a turning point for me in my art career as a digital illustrator. It was at the point where I was deliberating quitting my 9-5, it was post- COVID and a lot of things were changing, when the editor of Tani series reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I could do the digital illustrations they wanted, it was sort of a sign. At that time I didn’t really feel confident with my digital illustrations, because I was still just starting, using procreate pocket on my phone, imagine using your carrot fingers to get into lines and stuff lol. Then, when Martell came the year after, it was very exciting but also very challenging, because we were working with the team in France, but I’m happy it all came out the way it did.

Talking about France, you were selected for an exhibition there this year, but got your visa application denied. How did that make you feel?

I was pretty bummed out, you know, but funny thing is I didn’t let it get to me too much because I like to look at experiences as something I can write about and tell the story. I believed that there would be many more opportunities, and it was going to happen somehow, in some way. Now, if you look up “Chidinma,” you can see that I’m no longer a national artist. I’ve exhibited both nationally and internationally, and that’s a big thing for me, knowing where I started from. 

Where do you hope your art takes you?

I want my paintings to go to places I have never been and hopefully take me to places I’ve never been before as well, and I think it’s already happening. 

“She has arrived” by Chidinma Yemisi Mordi (CYRA)

To finish off, what’s your painting routine like?

So I watch family-friendly sitcoms just to hear the interactions. I think my routine as an architectural student sort of just went into my routine as an artist. I watch stuff like, Gilmore girls, Everybody hates Chris, The rookie. Easy sitcoms, basically. 

This has been amazing, Chidinma. You’ve been doing amazing work and we love to see it. More power to you. But before we go, what parting words of encouragement would you leave the people with?

Thank you so much for interviewing me. I’d say, dream big, let your dreams scare you and, you know, see how it happens.

Click here to check out Chidinma Yemisi Mordi on Instagram!

Go follow Park Radio on instagram.

Next post Scheduled for November 30th, see you soon!

                            If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment below.