Jayde Gibbons
Born and raised in Bermuda, Jayde’s love for the arts and photography developed early thanks to the close proximity she had to artists as a child. Jayde officially started her photography career in December of 2018 and in February 2019 she was described as Bermuda's most prolific up and coming photographer after the debut of her work in a group show at Masterworks Museum. In October 2019 she entered her first art competition with her piece Neighborhood Kids, and won the top prize Charman Prize! After winning the Charman 2019, Jayde was chosen to show in the 2021 Bermuda Biennial and then went on to have her very first solo show MNFR: My Negus For Real at Masterworks Museum of art. Jayde currently lives in Bermuda and works as a photographer for the Government of Bermuda and a part time freelance portrait photographer. She is currently looking to expand her horizons outside of the Bermuda scope, working towards a career in fine art and fashion photography. She says “I prefer to focus on the people, and the specific things that make our culture unique, outside of the typical imagery you see of Bermuda. My photography tells Visual Stories stories of family, brotherhood, community and culture”
Statement:
The Bermuda Gombey depicts a dancing “warrior” and is a sacred symbol of Afro Bermudian culture. Traditionally, only boys and men are allowed to play the drums and dance gombeys while the women make the costumes. The Gombey derives from Africa and was carried over to Bermuda through the slave trade. Historically, the gombeys were not viewed as a respectable art form by the slave masters and were only allowed to dance once a year and did so in masks in order to protest, without fear of retribution from their slave masters. Love Yours, featuring Bermudian creatives Noise Cans and Koji, is a visual love story to Afro Bermudians and our rich and dark, but still very beautiful and unique Culture. The mask worn is an oversized version of a traditional mask worn by the Bermuda Gombey. Visually, Koji is a visual representation of the Bermudian Woman and Noise Cans the Bermudian Man, the joining of them together represents unity of Afro Bermudians. The setting is in St. Georges Bermuda, a few steps from where I grew up and where the first settlers came. Love yours serves as a reminder to Afro Bermudians to love, honor and protect each other and our culture.
