Jayda Knight (Aka. Flying Knight) is a visual artist who received her BFA & BArch from Rhode Island School of Design.
From childhood, Knight was intrigued by decorative arts as a means for artistic expression; inspired by the use of historical wallpapers and ornament, rather than a form of “decoration”, Knight creates and uses them as a thoroughway for social communication and contextual visual story- telling. Through her practice, Knight explores ornament both as a metaphor and as a visual to build narratives in her work often inspired by contemporary topics; Knight draws from quotidien, societal, sexual and personal subject matter to create a descriptive, surreal story-telling delivered using symbolic motifs. An underlying correlative darker sub-text inherently lingers-this psychology in her work is often only accessible to the careful viewer, but playfully veiled behind a Decorative ornamental approach. The intentional contrast between the surface and the deep are part of what makes her work both accessible and challenging. This combined narrative in her work juxtaposed with a nostalgic flair, is often described as a visual form of the Historic-present.
Some of Knight’s most notable work are her Window wallpapers on Lincoln road, where she covered the windows of 24 empty storefronts with separate unique wallpapers during the 2020 Pandemic. Also notable, are her street art wallpaper collage drag queens honoring the drag culture in Miami-Dade scattered in several locations in Miami Beach. Her work is included in private collections and permanent collections including the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and the Coral Gables Museum.
Knight has collaborated with several institutions including the Miami City Ballet, Oolite Arts, Lincoln Road Improvement District and Timeout; she is a grant recipient from Gottlieb Foundation-NY, Artists’ Fellowship-NY and the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs.