Category: 2024 Bermuda Biennial

In recent months, three more 2024 Bermuda Biennial artists have been profiled in the Royal Gazette by journalist Heather Wood. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about each artist and their work, as they speak candidly about their inspiration, practice, and 2024 Biennial artwork.

“Extreme weather, shelter and the art of Godet Thomas”

Q: How would you describe A Shelter?

A: A Shelter is a playful work that brings together in a single image, different ideas of what a shelter might be. Perhaps it is as simple as a roof, or a hat; or are our bodies themselves shelters of a sort? What about our own imaginations and internal monologues, can they shelter us from the world? These are some of the questions and ideas that I had at the time of making the work.

Q: Based on your artist statement, your work pulls in a lot. Can you give examples of how you put it all together?

A: I’ve never been comfortable with the boundaries placed between creative disciplines, as such I prefer to work in the awkward spaces in-between wherever possible. If you take A Shelter for instance, the work is a wearable sculpture which was modelled by someone. It was then photographed and printed, written on/over and then scanned and reprinted for the exhibition. It is common in my practice for work to go through this kind of layered interdisciplinary process before its final, fully realised form. Humour plays less of a part in my practice now – that statement is a little out of date – but there is often an element of word play which can sometimes be funny or tongue-in-cheek.

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“Daisy Gould’s surprising Bermuda Biennial debut”

Q: What is Polaroid emulsion on watercolour? If you would explain the process please

A: Polaroid emulsion transfer involves moving the part of the film that “holds” the image on to watercolour paper using a hot, then cold, water bath. It’s an extremely delicate and patience-demanding process that is in complete opposition to the ease and speed with which photographic images are first taken. What I especially like about the process is how the flatness of the original Polaroid image is given texture when applied to the heavily grained paper.

Q: What led to your interest in Caribbean/Bermudian art? Is that interest ever reflected in your work?

A: These works are deeply informed by the work of Caribbean theorists and writers such as Édouard Glissant, Rex Nettleford and Michelle Cliff, just to name a few. Glissant’s writing is of particular importance in my research and I was thinking a lot about Glissant’s work when creating these works. Being from Martinique, he wrote about how the French word for “to understand”, comprendre, can also be translated as “to seize” and the violence implicated in that. These works consider that idea through the point of view of photography and how we talk about “capturing” an image. The camera is an apparatus of power in what the photographer decides to include in the frame, and what is left out, just like the selective telling of history. I’m very interested in the stories we’ve kept in Bermuda and which stories have been silenced throughout our history and collective memory.

As a Bermudian, I’ve always been interested in Bermudian art but my master’s is really what sparked my interest to pursue contemporary Caribbean art and theory as an area of expertise. As a curator, it’s shocking to me that Bermudian art isn’t more prevalent in the history of art, contemporary or otherwise, and I really want to help change that. We have so many incredible artists, they should be in major collections all over the world. I’ve said it countless times before but the best way to support local artists is to buy their work!

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“Sophie makes Biennial debut with iPhone photography”

Q: What is your BNG submission about?

A: I went to Paris for the first time in 2022. It was a short trip with my mum before my university graduation and I met my cousins (2 and 6 years old) for the first time. I took hundreds of photos that day. My cousin, pictured, speaks French and Russian, and is learning English at school. I speak a little bit of Russian and even less French, so we were muddling through different languages to chat to each other, which we both found very funny. I saw that she was reading the Tintin and Asterix comic books in French. I had read them in English. In the moment that the photo was taken, we were walking through the park and she picked up some feathers and put them on her head. I said that she looked like Asterix, and she laughed. For me this photo is about getting to know my family and the place they live in. Like I have gotten to know Bermuda and my family here, since I moved in 2020.

Q: Have you studied photography or are you self-taught?

A: I would say that I am self-taught. My grandmother gave me a compact camera for Christmas when I was seven. It was one of the first compact cameras to be widely sold to the public. I took hundreds of photos of flowers, scenes of my toys interacting with each other in a game, and illustrations in my story books. The great thing about this camera was that I could see all the photos I took on the screen and my parents did not have to print them out. I used this little camera to make stop-motion animations with my toys. However, in secondary school I did a six-week photography course in Chelmsford with the photographer Aytac Uzmen to learn how to use a DSLR camera. Aytac is now running lots of artist workshops but at the time I was one of her first students. Her workshop made me appreciate photography even more. I mainly use my phone and a point-and-shoot film camera to take photos because I find them more candid. When I take photos of my friends, they act more natural and relaxed in front of my phone and little camera than they do with my DSLR.

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The Bermuda Biennial is an exhibition that generates both ideas and debate. An open call to Bermudian artists and those resident on the island, the Biennial has been at the core of the contemporary art scene in Bermuda since its inception in 1994. This year’s exhibition brings together 32 artworks by 25 artists. The works, which range in both scale and medium, provide a striking insight into the themes preoccupying artists today.

In this video, CITV interviews several of this year’s Biennial artists, who provide additional insight into their work. Featured are artists Dr Edwin Smith, Christina Hutchings, Signe Constable, Sophie Stubbs, Jayde Gibbons and DionTheCreative.

CITV is the government-owned television station that is committed to producing and airing programming that provides details of Government programmes and initiatives. The station also focuses on cultural, historic and socially relevant topics that celebrate the diversity of Bermuda’s heritage.

This year artist Ebony G. Patterson, who held her first ever museum solo show at the Bermuda National Gallery in 2012, returns to BNG over a decade later in the role of Biennial juror. She is joined by Helen Toomer, a seasoned art fair organiser whose wealth of experience brings a fresh perspective to Bermuda. The resulting exhibition brings together 32 artworks by 25 artists. The works, which range in both scale and medium, provide a striking insight into the themes preoccupying artists today.

“A national gallery holds the treasure of home,” says Ebony G. Patterson. “But even more importantly, when thinking about artists and the importance of artists in a society, it also positions ways of moving forward.” She adds, “The Biennial is centred around artists who either live in Bermuda or its diaspora. And so, in many ways, it is a gift. It’s a gift to its public. But then also too, it’s a gift for you to unpack.”

Helen Toomer also likens the exhibition to a gift. “I hope that people realise that the Bermuda Biennial is such a gift,” she says. “This space, this institution, is a gift. These artists, most importantly, are a gift. Obviously, you always want to look to see what’s going on in the world, but if you realize what’s on your doorstep, it’s pretty special.”

Exhibition sponsored by Bacardi Limited. The 2024 Bermuda Biennial is on display in the main galleries through to January 2025

Tote Bags & Catalogues Available

We have produced a limited-edition tote bag to celebrate the 2024 Bermuda Biennial. These are available to purchase in our online shop and in person in the Gallery.

The cotton tote bags are double sided and are $15 each. If you would like a commemorative exhibition catalogue, you can purchase a tote and catalogue set at the reduced price of $20 for both.  

All proceeds support the Bermuda National Gallery, a registered charity. 

Places, Presence & Poetics: An Unpacking

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Members’ Opening of the 2024 Bermuda Biennial Places, Presence & Poetics: An Unpacking, sponsored by Bacardi Limited and juried by Ebony G. Patterson and Helen Toomer. 

We welcomed over 300 people on Friday evening. It was wonderful to share the experience with Members, artists and a great many new faces in the friends and family who came with them. 

The exhibition, which is now open to the public, presents 32 artworks by 25 contemporary Bermudian artists which range from painting to photography, sculpture, film and large-scale site-specific installations.

Photographs by Brandon Morrison.