Books / illustration
Bristol illustrator releases first graphic novel
Jayde Perkin can’t stop smiling. Which is perhaps surprising given that her new graphic memoir is mostly about grief.
I’m Not Ready by the 27-year-old illustrator is not the sad recount of loss that readers might expect, however.
Instead, it’s a collection of comics that Jayde describes as “sad, but it’s not all doom and gloom.
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“There’s these weird moments that you don’t expect to experience when someone passes away, there’s odd interactions, mundane moments, and little pockets of joy too.”
Much of Jayde Perkin’s graphic memoir is about grief
Jayde grew up in Devon and studied Illustration at UWE Bristol. She graduated in 2013 and freelanced at Hamilton House before moving to Berlin in 2015.
Going home to Devon for Christmas that year, Jayde describes how her mother had been in remission for five years, but over that festive period she could see that “something was wrong with mum”.
The beginning of 2016 saw two devastating blows to the illustrator: David Bowie, a long-time creative inspiration, died in January, and her mother died a few months later in March.
Jayde moved from Berlin back to Devon to be with her family.
“I was in this bubble of grief,” she says. “I had dabbled in comics previously and produced zines for ELCAF and Bristol Comic & Zine Fair, but now I was drawing comics to process what had happened.”
Her comics gained popularity, with others affected by loss reaching out to the illustrator. “The reception was amazing,” she says. “So many people were getting in touch about their grief.”
Following this success, Jayde moved to Bristol and continued to use comics to process her loss. Creating and selling zines about different aspects of experiencing grief, she explored how it affects everyday life continuously in small and, often unexpected, ways.
She created a children’s book called Mum’s Jumper with Bristol-based publisher Book Island which comes out in September 2019 and the won the ELCAF x WeTransfer prize in 2018.
The prize was a grant, which gave Jayde the opportunity to make a longer compilation of art about grief.
Fast-forward to 2019, and I’m Not Ready is the result of a year’s work.
A self-published graphic memoir about “loss, grief, music, cities and ‘what is home?’”, the tale begins with the death of David Bowie and brings readers along the journey to the present day.
Jayde describes her illustration as “hand-painted people and places. It’s colourful and dreamy. Realistic and not at the same time.”
The book will officially be launched at ELCAF, but Jayde is acutely aware of the support of Bristol’s creative community and has organised a local launch party for the book.
On Thursday, June 20 from 5pm, I’m Not Ready‘s Bristol launch party is taking place at Good Chemistry and everyone is welcome to attend.
“There’s a lot of people in Bristol who appreciate my work,” Jade says. “There will be artwork, people can buy my book or just have a beer.”
Read more: The artist who wants ‘all women and all genders to love themselves’
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