Alexandra Gibbs

Alluring, ethereal and fresh stand as preeminent elements in photographer Alexandra Gibbs’ work. Using powerful contrast and jazzy shades, her photos bleed an immaculate purity. Gibbs creates ghostly imagery in her “Personal” collection, as well as faultlessly crisp and editorial-ready snapshots that pop, presenting a lovely incongruity of photographic abilities.

“I have always been drawn to simplicity,” Gibbs says. “Creating something timeless has always been a goal of mine.”

As is providing inspiration. Though each vignette, she strives to tell a story.

Hailing from a creatively motivating family, it is no surprise that Gibbs set out to be a professional artist. While other kids were in the play yard in grade school, Gibbs and her brothers were being introduced to pigments and brushes in home school.

“My mom would give us a canvas and we would paint for hours. When we were done, she would hang them in our empty dining room aka our ‘gallery.’  She purposely never furnished the dining room so we could have that room for crafts and dancing around.  It was the best to have parents that allowed and encouraged creative freedom!”

She picked up her first camera at 14 and says she can still recall the moment she composed her first photograph, and how when, in the darkroom she produced the image that so captivated her, she knew she found her calling.

“I remember seeing this beautiful strip of light hit the wooden panels of this old bench out in front of our home in Arizona. It sounds so silly, but that was such a defining moment for me. Everything just clicked: the light, the composition, the subject matter. All of the pieces just came together and when I stood in the darkroom later that week and the image magically appeared before my eyes, the same image that once lived in my head, I was hooked.”

Since her days in Arizona, she has completed a degree in photography from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara and chased her fantasy of moving to New York, where she is now happily settled and pushing forward in her artistic endeavors.

“It wasn’t until I traveled to Paris, France during my last semester, that I realized the idea of moving to New York was something that I could actually turn into a reality. About a month and half after I got back from Paris, I packed up my things and moved.  I’ve been living and working in NY for a little over a year now and not a day goes by that I don’t stop to think about how lucky I am to be literally living my dream.”

The city is her strongest source of inspiration as well as her loved ones, a band of artists sowed throughout the country.

“My heart beats so strongly here. I am so lucky to have a close group of friends, scattered all over the US, who are amazing people and artists.  They are always motivating me and sending so much love and support.  Last but not least, my boyfriend is an extremely talented graphic designer and I find inspiration through him every single day.  He is always inspiring me to be the best version of myself.”

Most moved by love and fear, the “two most powerful emotions,” she divulges that they can “completely consume” her.

“I am still learning to translate those emotions into my art…I think that as an artist, you are obligated to strip yourself down and break through those walls.  It’s almost like it’s apart of your job to become vulnerable, and the struggle to get to that point is an art form in itself.”

Gibbs’ current ventures include rebuilding her portfolio; along with a few projects and publications with her team for the coming months. Her goal is to have a gallery show soon, but ultimately she strives just to make her family proud. Suitably, the last thing she learned was that everything takes time.

“I tend to get lost in the mindset that everything needs to happen right now or else my life will fall apart.  Truth is, we all just need to let go of controlling every moment and enjoy the ride.”

She also states that it is essential to remain transparent.

“Staying true to yourself and remaining positive throughout your journey through life.  Everyone feeds off of each others energy, and you really only get back what you put out into the world.”

She goes on to explain what’s important:

“Love.  Seems so cliche, I know! But I would not be where I am today without my family.  They have always believed in me and gave me the confidence and strength I needed to pursue my dreams.  My mom always told us to ‘do what you love.”’ I’ll carry those words with me forever.”