Bones of Arecaceae
Foster’s clay sculptures are born out of a dialogue between minimalism and nature. The subtitle of this work, “Requiem in Cayman Gardens”, evokes the cyclical shedding of leaves that defines the material lifecycle of palm trees — Arecaceae being the tree’s Latin name. These curled ceramic forms evoke the dried fronds and leaf sheaths of the palm tree that will ultimately return to the earth and spur new growth.
About the Artist
Virginia “Auntie V” Foster
b. 1950
Virginia (‘Auntie V’) Foster (Belizian–Caymanian, b. 1950). Born in Belize, Foster arrived in the Cayman Islands in 1977. Here she became an educator, a youth librarian in the Public Library Service and a board member of CNCF. Auntie V is a performer and storyteller at Gimistory (CNCF’s storytelling festival) and on Radio Cayman and is also an accomplished ceramicist, designer and poet. Foster won the 2014 Emerging Pioneer Certificate at the National Heroes Day Award ceremony and the 2012 Gold Star for Creativity in the Arts from CNCF.
Her work is included in the permanent collections of NGCI and the Cayman Brac Museum, and is featured in The Art of the Cayman Islands: A Journey Through the National Collection (Scala Fine Arts, 2016). Exhibitions at NGCI include: Ceramic Art (2014), All Access (2015), Revive: Contemporary Caymanian Craft (2017), and the solo exhibition Virginia Foster: Wonders of Clay (2021).
