Bermudian photographer Jayde Gibbons’ latest art show, Wild Flowers, explores the true nature of femininity from the beauty and mystery to the power and rage.

“The show is meant to be an ode to the Bermudian woman,” the 33-year-old said. “A lot of our local flowers, the Bermudiana, the nasturtiums, the bluebells, are considered weeds.

“Often, we either pull the flowers up and destroy them or we try to control them before they take over. I thought they were a good analogy for the way Bermuda treats women, specifically afro Bermudians.”

The centrepiece of the exhibition, on now at the Bermuda Society of Arts, is a worn yellow easy chair, covered in an Afghan blanket. Next to it is a small table with an ashtray, and an unlit cigarette.

The chair once belonged to her late grandmother, who would often sit in it smoking while dispensing advice: “Girl, you need to leave that man alone.”

While femininity is often portrayed as beautiful, pretty and graceful, Ms Gibbons sees these smoke-filled advice sessions, full of tough love, wisdom and wit, as the true epitome of womanhood.

Behind the chair are photos of her mother, grandmother and aunts.

“They are my wild flowers,” she said. “All of us Gibbons girls are saucy. I don’t know where we get it from.”

There are also photos of female community leaders such as former premiers Dame Jennifer Smith and Dame Pamela Gordon, and civil rights advocate Eva Hodgson.

“I didn’t take these photographs,” she said. “I wanted to showcase women in leadership in Bermuda, their works and contributions. A lot of the privileges that we have today in legislation came from these particular women in politics.”

In another corner are photos of women with their young daughters and nieces.

The girls ages 2 to 7, stand in fields of flowers or wear them in their hair.

One little girl looks defiantly into the camera. A familiar yellow chair has a place in these photos also.

“Instead of highlighting heroes, I wanted to use everyday women to showcase how beautiful and inspiring they are,” she said. “They are so integral to all things.”

While shooting the children, Ms Gibbons never told them to cheer up or smile.

“Let them exist,” she said. “I prefer to capture them as they are in their own beautiful way. The flowers that grow in the wild just naturally exist.”

Females are often told to smile and be pretty, even by passing strangers.

“We are still human,” Ms Gibbons. “We are still beautiful and we are still important, even when we don’t feel like smiling. Images of the women and girls when they were not smiling felt like a strong symbol of resilience and strength.”

The artist hopes that the women who see the show see their own strength and importance reflected back at them.

“I wanted to visually showcase the importance of women period,” she said. “Everything on this planet comes from us, the female.”

She said young girls growing up in today’s age of social media experience a great deal of social pressure while they are trying to figure out who they are.

“I’m an adult,” she said. “I know social media isn’t real, and I still sometimes compare myself to what I am seeing. I am a millennial.

“I can remember the time before social media, but for the younger generation social media is all they know. I really can’t imagine how difficult it is for them now.”

She wants young girls to know they can be anything they want.

“Young girls are subconsciously taught that they exist for everyone else,” she said. “In a lot of households the girls are made to clean up while their brothers lay off. I just want girls to know that they can exist for themselves. They are worthy, powerful, valid, important and needed.”

One section of the show compares femininity to lunar power.

“The sun is masculine and the Moon is feminine,” she said. “That is the analogy here. We often speak of the moon being darkness, and associate it with bad or negative energy.

“However, nothing on Earth would grow without the Moon. It controls everything from your emotions to tides and crops. I wanted to tie that into a representation of the feminine.”

Ms Gibbons feels true femininity is spiced with a fair amount of rage. She wants to challenge the patriarchy, but is quick to say it is not about male against female.

“Men sometimes take it as a personal attack,” she said. “It is the system of patriarchy that is keeping women from being able to just do and be great and contribute so that we can move forward.”

She works for the Bermuda Government department of communications as a photo librarian.

Her last show Family at the Bermuda National Museum, just came down after a year on display. She also had a piece included in the Biennial at the Bermuda National Gallery.

“This could be my last show for a little while,” Ms Gibbons said. “I pour so much of myself into my art and my work and how I want it. I need a break to come back into myself.”

She wants to start exploring film more. “I want to do more mixed media things,” she said. “With this break, I will explore that.”

• Jayde Gibbons will be giving a talk, I said what I said, this evening at the Bermuda Society of Arts at City Hall in Hamilton from 5.30pm to 7pm. Admission is free. For more information see her on Instagram @Lokqul_.