Generations: How Caymanian are You?
The rise of theoretical and political interest in citizenship has been shaped in important ways by a growing sensitivity to the concept of identity. Citizenship, conceived as a matrix of rights acquired over time, exists in tension with the passing of generations and the multiple identities to which it pertains. This tension is expressed in this interactive artwork, where the viewer is invited to see how many pegs they can place into the rusted nail hoops based on their purported claim to a Caymanian lineage — an exercise that highlights the absurdity of such notions, given the numerous dispersed identities which make up our conception of Caymanian cultural identity.
About the Artist
Kerwin Ebanks
b. 1978
Kerwin Ebanks received his BA in Arts Education from Evansville University, Indiana, and began pursuing painting seriously in 2010, after several years of teaching. He is influenced by the seascapes of the American painter, Winslow Homer, and by the socially engaged work of the Mexican painter Diego Rivera (1886–1957) along with the African-American painter Hale Woodruff (1900–1980). The subject of his work is generally concerned with daily life in the Cayman Islands and its culture, lifestyles, attitudes, and heritage. These scenes draw heavily on the idealised archival images of Cayman past, yet each is given a contemporary touch with references to the popular culture of today, making it at once historical and current. His work was featured at NGCI in the exhibitions tIDal Shift: Explorations of Identity in Contemporary Caymanian Art (2015), Upon the Seas (2017), and Traces: Activating the Art Curriculum (2018).
