Gallery launches exhibit on the importance of Caymanian plant life
Loop News Cayman
The National Trust for the Cayman Islands and the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands are launching a new exhibition that seeks to celebrate the beauty and importance of Caymanian plant life.
Working with photographers David Hartwell and Bill Ferehawk, who participated in an artist-in-residency programme at the Gallery in 2019, “Homegrown” showcases a series of plant ‘portraits’ that capture the uniqueness of local plants, while also revealing their wider significance within Caymanian culture.
Utilising the transformative power of the camera’s lens, Hartwell and Ferehawk capture the elegance of these beguiling specimens with a visual and compositional economy that is alternately striking and understated in equal measure.
Through a laborious process developed over several years, the artists have honed a technique of shooting their subjects on location — in this instance at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park in Grand Cayman — utilising a portable background and two lightweight LED panels to achieve an astonishing array of optical effects.
Drawing out the stark beauty of the thorny shake hand, the alien-like tendrils of the ghost orchid, and the raw bones’ delicately trembling stamens, the photographers have fashioned a series of plant ‘portraits’ that speak to the uniqueness and individuality of each in turn, while also revealing their wider significance within Caymanian culture.
The project serves to support a wide-reaching community programme in February and March and comes to a close on March 19.