After studying Philosophy at Warwick University, Gabrielle went on to Advertising agency AMV BBDO before finally choosing to pursuit the Arts. Having graduated from Acting school at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, solace was found in the consistency that art provided. The curiosity surrounding human behaviour that led Gabrielle from Philosophy to Advertising and then to Acting, is channeled into creating in various forms. With every new piece, there is a desire to interrogate, understand & communicate her world view further.

Artist Statement

"Why portraits?" Portraits according to my early art education were created for many reasons. A main reason being; to reflect and capture the power and socioeconomic position of the individual(s) depicted within the piece. Though people from the Diaspora had been in the West under various contexts for hundreds of years, from what I’d been taught of Western art, apart from the anomalous black figure in the background, it’s typically not the case that the black figure is the object of desire or the key figure in that narrative. To my dismay, not once in an art class, did I see a black person in the foreground as the admirable subject within a piece.

My work began as an attempt to include people who looked like me to the narrative. As I've grown in the discipline, I've come to learn about a great number of artists & paintings which do this. I’ve also come to understand that there’s something about dark skin - black skin - that is loaded, that speaks with no words. I now focus on unpacking this and simultaneously hope to join those other artists in creating work that honours the power and influence of less noted members within our diverse community.