Terra Botanica

Translating directly as ‘the botanical’, Terra Botanica looks at the multitude of ways in which artists have documented, researched, and celebrated the rich diversity of plants and trees in the Cayman Islands. Primarily featuring works drawn from the National Collection, selected artworks from private collections have been included to showcase the various ways in which artists have depicted flora. Although the majority of biogeography of the Caribbean focuses almost exclusively on animal groups, there are rich archives of sketches, drawings and artistic documentation of our botanic diversity held in published books, stretched canvas, and the hands of skilled artists and researchers. Terra Botanica is conceived as an opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the natural environment and the plant life of our Islands, alongside the organisations and individuals who tirelessly work to protect our biodiversity and educate our communities to better understand its true value. Drawing on various media — from detailed sketches to paintings, watercolour, and photography — the exhibition explores this varied subject matter through the multiple perspectives of artists and their diverse depictions of the natural world.

Speaking to the importance of preserving this rich ecological legacy, Terra Botanica examines the relationship between art and nature, as well as the ways in which our natural environment has inspired visual artists in our community through successive generations. From botanical studies that resemble ‘plant portraits’, to looser and more expressive depictions of Cayman’s abundant tropical foliage, the works in this exhibition offer a new perspective on artists’ responses to nature, in contrast to the idyllic landscapes and seascapes which art audiences in Cayman have grown accustomed to seeing. As a counterpoint to NGCI’s current National Collection exhibition on view in the Upper Exhibition Hall, Saltwater in Their Veins, which honours Cayman’s seafaring history and culture, these two exhibitions together elaborate a unified narrative of the visual arts in the Cayman Islands through the complementary exploration of the maritime and the terrestrial — two halves of the same cultural story.

Featured artists include significant figures from the history and development of the visual arts in the Cayman Islands — all of whom have played significant roles in documenting the Islands’ ever-changing landscape. These include the likes of Teresa Grimes, Margaret Barwick and Penny Clifford, as well as lesser-known figures who were active in the early years of the Visual Arts Society (VAS) in the 1970s and ‘80s. Taking an almost scientific approach to the appreciation and depiction of the natural world, many of these artists have rarely been exhibited or received the critical attention they deserve. As such, Terra Botanica spotlights a broad selection of underrepresented works and artists from the National Collection, while presenting a subject that has yet to be fully explored within our central exhibitions programme. The attention and care these artists devote to their chosen subject matter is a further testament to the childlike wonder many of us feel about the natural beauty of our Islands — expressing universal themes of curiosity and creativity that are sure to resonate with audiences.