Exhibition
Evolutions traces the historical and artistic journey of the Cayman Islands through a period of rapid social, political, and cultural transformation. Assembled in a loosely chronological fashion, the exhibition begins with a selection of traditional and contemporary craft objects, alongside the visionary markings of intuitive artists like Gladwyn “Miss Lassie” Bush and the intentionally ‘naïve’ work of Charles Long, before shifting to the realist painters of the 1980s, who sought to capture the picturesque surroundings of the “islands time forgot”.
With the emergence of the Native Sons artist collective and the formalisation of cultural institutions like the National Gallery, the mid-1990s witnessed a mobilisation towards a new, homegrown discourse in Caymanian art. Challenging the persistent dominance of landscape painting, these artists offer contrasting approaches to colour, canvas, and material, expressing a multifaceted vision of Caymanian society attuned to the realities of the time: economic prosperity, rapid immigration and population growth, environmental distress, and the erosion of traditional culture.
Finally, the increasingly varied and topically driven work of our Islands’ contemporary artists is presented. Through a wide range of media, this plurality of creative voices is continuing to challenge existing borders and articulate new meanings for contemporary Caymanian identity. Seen collectively, the featured artworks offer an unparalleled record of the Cayman Islands’ evolving cultural history and the aspirations, character, and imagination of its people—from the mythic to the common place, the harmonious and the dissonant.