When we were in the planning stages of launching our first Biennial, we knew that central to the project was bringing the exhibition to all three of our Islands, and we kept this at the forefront of our thinking throughout the Biennial’s development process.
One of our featured artists, Kaitlyn Elphinstone, embraced the multi-site aspect of the Biennial and sought to integrate her work into the very fabric of Cayman Brac itself. Known as “site-responsive” because such works are typically exhibited outside the traditional gallery space while engaging directly with their surroundings, Kaitlyn’s Coral Tiles layers local fretwork designs over coral images to create a visually striking surface.
The effect – as with all of Kaitlyn’s works – is delicately and arrestingly beautiful, but it also talks to us about the knitting together of the natural and commercial worlds, asking us to consider whether these are contrasting or complementing, and how commercial use of our natural surroundings affects the very environment it needs to succeed.
The installation sites – from the Panama Canal boat launch to the Brac Scuba Shack to the Market Place store – were no accident. Everyday life in Cayman sees that blend of the natural and the manmade world, from our proud seafaring tradition to our tourism industry to our weekly visits to the grocery store. By installing these works at familiar manmade landmarks, the artist provokes a fresh consideration of the intervention of modern life and its physical alterations of the natural environment.
Equally intentional is the use of coral to represent our natural world. Cayman is rich in plant and sea life, but Kaitlyn’s choice of our fragile coral reef is perhaps unsurprising given she has told us she wants to draw “awareness to the importance of our coastlines and encourage us to carefully consider future development and the role we play”.
In opting to use tiles as a medium, Kaitlyn perfectly combines these themes – tiles fired in a kiln, but created using clay, and so familiar as to be almost unnoticed. By selecting this backdrop, Kaitlyn also asks us to think about how man’s use of the natural world can itself create a fresh object of both beauty and utility.
And how have the residents of Cayman Brac responded? As a welcome bright spot on the drab side of a concrete building, Kaitlyn’s tiles instantly brighten the local scenery in which the same way as the abundant blooms of Bougainvillea that dot Brackers’ well-kept yards around the island. At the pavilion site next to the Scott’s landing boat ramp, residents can be found relaxing in the shade over after-work dominos as Kaitlyn’s installation – gentle and inviting – calls new players in from the evening sun. Kaitlyn’s work – itself a manufactured construction – challenges accepted notions of artificial, manmade culture while drawing attention to the beauty of our natural world. By incorporating natural imagery into the surfaces of her work, Kaitlyn neatly reverses the typical process of man’s impact on our environment, thereby providing a richer, more nuanced contribution to an increasingly visible and global debate.
This multi-site project can be experienced at the following venues: Charles Kirkconnell International Airport, Panama Canal Boat Launch, The Market Place and Brac Scuba Shack. Coral Tiles is on view in Cayman Brac until June 13. Further details about our first Cayman Islands Biennial, can be found here.
Photo credits: Kaitlyn Elphinstone