Who is Kyle Jardine? The artist , the person , the performer… just an ordinary guy.

As a person , a creative, a performer & all these definitive layers & labels that make up the person I am today . I am also just an ordinary guy who has been shaped by all these experiences that have gotten me to this very moment in time. Let’s take it back , way back & allow me to introduce you to who I really am & what has shaped me up to this point. Born & bread in Cape Town South Africa I grew up in blouberg table view with my parents & older brother. As far as I can recall I have always leaned into the arts. As a child I immersed myself in art , drama, school plays & as many creative outlets at my disposal. Music & drama gave me the freedom to express & explore who I was & so from a young age I decided I wanted to pursuit this as a career.

Growing up & becoming aware of who I was , my sexuality & interests in life , wasn’t always easy. Definitely not as easy as the modern world we live in today. As a child I experienced a lot of bullying & ridicule , especially making my way though an all boys school. I experienced immense highs & lows in my teenage years & always found solice amongst my female friends. Woman have always been my heart , soul & place of comfort & safety growing up.Despite a solid education, surviving boarding school ( which taught me independence), making it through The bullying & finding my place in all things art & drama at school. I was ready to launch into my next phase.

I worked & saved as a waiter in SA to get myself to London after school where I began to discover who I was in the big wide world. Learning to stand on my own two feet, be broke & jobless , hustle & be amongst people in a large city where I could learn & discover who I was as a person.

I spent two years there , working , travelling for the first time & discovering my individuality. I was drawn to the fashion & getting to really express my true essence. London grew me quickly & though I wanted to study abroad, financially it was too expensive.

Two years later I headed back to SA where I had saved to put myself though tertiary education. I booked a spot at film school & quickly found my tribe in Cape Towns creative scene . I explored design , costume & on screen performance.

After leaving film school I landed my first professional acting job , became a full time waiter again & launched into musical theatre. Through all the hustle, the highs & lows I also experienced loss. My father passed away in my early twenties & nothing quite prepares you for something like this in life. Experiencing his passing teaches you a different perspective on life that will reshape you and your journey.

My passion was always in theatre & the opportunity to study dance & music came around. I ended up studying musical theatre full time for 3 more years & honed the skills in tap , ballet, jazz & modern, along with the necessary performance skills to be able to audition professionally.

The theatre scene was a further hustle & I worked in all areas with the goal to work on large scale musicals & work & travel. I set the goals & landed several shows which allowed me to live the dream, perform for large audiences & travel internationally.

I worked as a professional performer for several years, travelling locally & abroad & soon I found my calling to root myself back home in SA where I was welcomed into a theatre collective .

This season became my definitive theatre family chapter. Theatre was always a place amongst fellow performers who know what it means to endure the journey of rejection & hard work all for the love of what we do. This new chapter became my home.This was a season of exploring all my skill sets, from designing sets , costumes & taking to the stage . It was a full creative experience which allowed me to rediscover my full creative skill set.

It was broken into two halves when I moved to Hong king for a year to travel & take a breather, but quickly returned to fulfil my creative calling in life. I was surrounded by my drag family & although I dabbled in drag on & off stage , it was a time of self discovery & allowing myself to grow confidently as a person & performer. It was a chapter of honesty where real life & work collided. A time of love & loss, heart break , sweat & tears & utter joy.

It’s said that drag doesn’t change you but reveals who you truly are, & it was these five years that remain one of the most definitive times in my life personally & professionally.

I was on an all time high & and enduring life’s rollercoaster simultaneously when covid hit & everything as I knew it came crashing down.

Pre covid I began to explore who I was as an artist & through a year of building a body of work, working by night , painting by day I built up my first body of work. I partnered with a gallery space to launch my very first exhibition ever , which was a solo showcase of illustrations.

The work was well received but covid hit like nightfall & everything as we knew it changed. I endured a job loss, personal loss & heartbreak in the coming year & I found solice in my artwork.

Life seemed like one big blurry dream & I kept myself going . painting by day & night. I began to create furiously and discover who I was as an artist. With savings running low & the new world post covid set in I had to support myself.

Art quickly became my saving grace & I leaned into learning , growing & exploring the art scene, as a creative & small business. I made my way doing small commissions, selling small works & slowly experimenting with prints ranges.

The theatre world would never quite be the same & I was at a cross roads . Attempt to once again enter the performing arts world or brave the unknown as a self taught artist.

Starting again professionally in my 30s in a new career & discovering the art scene was a daunting place to be. Like all creative collectives it’s a clicky scene & learning to hustle was the key word.

Jumping forward & reflecting on reaching where I am currently in my art career has been a matter of 6 years +- since finding my sketch book, doubling up on two jobs, experiencing a sudden crash in my industry , being broke & figuring out how to stay afloat.

Life certainly has a bizarre way of working out & I would never have thought that I would arrive where I am today. But discovering my world of colour , bringing theatre to the canvas & finding heart & happiness once again in myself & my professional career has been nothing short of gruelling, hard work & fuelled by passion & determination.

It feels like life is only beginning once again & this time I get to make my mark for all to see & share in. I’m going to make it bright & share the joy. I’ve learnt that life is short , nothing is certain & each day is chance to do it all again.

All grown up!