Exhibition
This solo exhibition was the National Gallery’s first mid-career survey of leading Caymanian artist Wray Banker. Comprised of paintings, three-dimensional installations, photography, and poetry, the exhibition sought to explore local Caymanian culture through the eyes of the artist, with many pieces revealing intimate experiences and significant memories from Banker’s own childhood.
A founding member of the Native Sons artists collective, the artist’s oeuvre is often characterised by its tongue-in-cheek humour, which is indicative of Banker’s own personality. Although light-hearted in appearance, the featured artworks encouraged visitors to consider significant socio-political issues, foregrounding concerns such as the growing threat of cultural erosion. This theme was notably referenced in the artist’s acclaimed Ode to Milo series – a series of paintings that consciously evoke Andy Warhol’s images of Campbell’s Soup cans to ironically critique our increasingly materialistic society, while incorporating culturally specific references that place the work within a distinctly Caymanian realm of experience. Speaking to this project, the artist stated: “the Ode to Milo series reflects on the many layers of Caymanian culture that may not always be seemingly apparent—it is everywhere in the most ordinary things that are so easy to discount and discard.”
Serious ‘Bout Mekin’ Fun was on view at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands’ Alexander Place location from 19 October – 24 November 2001.
About the Artist
Wray Banker
b. 1968
Born in West Bay, Grand Cayman, Wray Banker studied graphic design in Houston and is a founding member of the Native Sons artist collective. Career highlights include Serious bout Makin’ Fun (NGCI, 2001); designing pins for the Cayman Islands 1996 Olympic Committee, and the 2003 Pan Am Games (both voted Best of Countries). Notable exhibitions include Art Basel Miami (2003); the Santo Domingo Biennale (2003); the Griffin Gallery, Chicago (2006); and Carifesta X, Guyana (2008). Banker has received numerous awards, including the Lifetime Achievement in Arts award from the Cayman Islands Government (2003), The McCoy Prize’s Second Commendation in Photography (2005), People’s Choice for Fine Art (2006), CNCF’s Artistic Achievement Award (2007), and an Emerging Pioneer recognition at Cayman Islands’ National Heroes Day (2014). Banker was one of four Caymanian artists to be included in the recently released A-Z of Caribbean Art (Robert & Christopher Publishers: 2019), a landmark survey of contemporary art from the Caribbean region and its diaspora. His work has featured in numerous exhibitions at NGCI, including the solo show Serious ‘Bout Makin’ Fun (2001), Art of Assemblage (2013), Metamorphoses (2014), tIDal Shift: Explorations of Identity in Contemporary Caymanian Art (2015), Speak to Me (2016), Mediating Self (2017), and Revive: Contemporary Caymanian Craft (2017).
