Born and raised in Bermuda, Gherdai Hassell is quickly making a name for herself in the art world. Her colourful mixed-media works are both celebratory and imaginative, acting as a visual autobiography. Check out our interview below 🦋

Addy: Gherdai, what is your earliest memory of drawing?

Gherdai: I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I used to draw. 

Addy: Your work is very thematic, exploring representation and identity, why did you decide to explore these themes?

Gherdai: I live part-time in China where I am a masters student at the China Academy of Art. The alibii collages emerged as a way for me to deal with the unwanted attention I was experiencing. The layering became the distancing between myself and the eyes of others. I also at this time began experimenting with Chinese calligraphy inks on different kinds of watercolour and traditional Chinese rice paper. I used the materials of the culture in which I was in, and added a contemporary twist onto the ways in which they were used. Because my skin in China is always a point of inquiry for Chinese people, I figured it could be awesome to investigate within myself what it means to walk in the world in a black body. I love the way the inks allowed me to explore what it means to have black skin. I employed the inks to create skin which acted like a membrane between the outside and inner worlds. This in turn created humanoid figures, which claimed their own characterization. I’m currently based in the UK, and rarely see myself represented in works of art. I wanted to make work that I wish I saw in the world. 

Addy: Amazing. How did growing up in Bermuda shape the art that you create?

Gherdai: My work is totally inspired by being Bermudian. You can find colours everywhere. It’s hard not to be inspired by (Bermuda).

Addy: There’s a clear connection between the colours of Bermuda and those found in your body of work. Okay, so walk me through your creative process.

Gherdai: The eyes are the starting place for the work, it grows from there. I construct the body only after inserting the eyes. Then I Ink. I create black skin oftentimes made from Chinese calligraphy or Indian inks and sometimes coffee. Usually, bright colours and fabrics inspire me and find [their] way into the work. When i’m working i’m there in the moment, fully immersed in the work.

Addy: You work with oil and also mixed media (I’m obsessed with your collages), what drew you to explore different mediums and how does your practice differ?

Gherdai: I actually moved toward collage when I became frustrated with oil. Before I started studying for my masters in contemporary art, I was self taught. And I found painting to be extremely challenging. I turned to collage when I needed a break from the difficulty and the limitations that I was being met with [whilst] trying to work with oil. Now I’m using a variety of materials from Chinese calligraphy inks, coffee, Indian inks, sequins beads, and fabrics to convey messages in my work.

Addy: That’s really interesting. You choose to portray black women in your work, what do you hope to communicate?

Gherdai: I chose to portray black women in my work because I don't see enough positive imagery of black women. So I wanted to create work that was for us, by us. The collages are representations of confident, self-actualizing women. Women whom are assertive and are not afraid to show up in the world as themselves. Women who are bold and sassy. Women who love themselves. Whole women who know that the way they show up in the world is enough. They know that THEY. ARE. ENOUGH. 

Addy: Yes! So true. Who and what are your greatest influences?

Gherdai: Nina Simone, I live for her music and raw artistry. Writings by Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. I’m also super inspired by Yaa Gyasi’s book, Homegoing. Jazz sends me into a zone while i’m working. Oh and how could I forget, Tea. This is a studio essential.

Addy: Love Nina Simone. Do you have a favourite piece of work that you’ve created? 

Gherdai: Sleeves Filled with Pearls, it's the first portrait of my family I’ve created. It’s a large scale mixed media oil painting. This is the poem that I wrote that goes with the piece:

You exist in a plane of your own

All good makes room for you

You are stars

You rise like the sun at dawn

Vibrant

possessing the most potent of energies

the energy of all nine planets

You're out of this world gorgeous

The kind of beauty that

Bears the DNA of all humanity in her genes

Mother

You are

Sister

You are

The giver of life

Shit, you give me all kinds of it

Fabulous

You are

Dripping in gold dipped like honey

You are the comb

The home of all the b’s

Booked & Busy

Bold

Beautiful

Bright

Benevolent

Baddest bish

You wear many hats

And stylish, you wear them well

You make the hardest triumph look like a walk in the park

And you saunter with grace

You’re my go to’s

my ride or dies

My absolute favorite girls

You are all things I love

Sleeves filled with Pearls.

Addy: A woman of many talents! If you hadn’t become an artist, what type of career do you think you would have chosen? 

Gherdai: If I wasn’t an artist, I’d be living a lie. But if I wasn't a visual artist I would still have to choose something creative, maybe a writer. I write poetry but I don't share much of it publicly. 

Addy: Writing can be such a personal experience. Last question! You can have dinner with 3 artists, dead or alive, who would you choose?

Gherdai: Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Jacob Lawrence. 

Addy: Great choices. Now for the rapid fire round!! 🔥 Renaissance or Baroque? 

Gherdai: Baroque.

Addy: Pizza or French fries? 

Gherdai: Is this even a question?! Pizzzaaa. 

Addy: Silk or suede? 

Gherdai: Silk.

Addy: Warhol or Basquiat? 

Gherdai: TF, Basquiat.

Addy: City or countryside? 

Gherdai: Hm. This is tough, I’m an island girl, so I’d have to say countryside because that’s what’s most similar to my home. 

Addy: Vine or Tiktok? 

Gherdai: VINEEEE.

Addy: RIP Vine <3 thanks so much Gherdai!

Gherdai’s work was recently featured in the WACO Theater Center’s Wearable Art Gala, founded by Tina Knowles Lawson and Richard Lawson. Check out the virtual celebration here!