Description

Free tours of 81° West and Tangled World, led by National Gallery curators. Learn the curatorial rationale behind the exhibition, explore individual works and connect with like-minded guests.

About 81° West

This exhibition explores the connection between art and cartography (or the practice of making and interpreting maps), the history of which stretches from ancient times to the present day. As a discipline rooted in scientific inquiry and evolving technology, cartography has wide-reaching social, political, and philosophical implications. It has been associated with exploration and conquest, the visualization of global power dynamics, the assertion of national territories and identities, as well as the more straightforward human need to find one’s way in unfamiliar circumstances.

As such, cartography embodies a unique form of image-making whose empirical objectives seem to be far removed from the aesthetic priorities of fine art. Yet there are instructive similarities that unite these two forms of pictorial representation. Much like the cartographer who surveys uncharted territory, the artist embarks upon a similar journey—evocatively transcribing the world around them in all its complexity and myriad detail, revealing new insights and interpretations in the process.

Taking this analogy as its departure point, 81 Degrees West examines the work of Caymanian artists who utilise the iconography of maps and their material traces, or processes that are symbolically related to map-making, as the basis for creative exploration. Exhibited alongside antique maps of the Cayman Islands and the wider Caribbean, these works of art highlight the imaginative and symbolic potential of cartography and its resonances within the wider context of our Islands’ maritime history and cultural heritage.

About Tangled World

Inspired by the Cayman Islands’ ancient mangrove habitat, Tangled World explores the tensions at play within this captivating terrestrial landscape, as well as its profound environmental and cultural significance. As the ecological heart of our island, mangroves protect, sustain, and facilitate the flourishing of life and human habitation in Cayman. While these unique saltwater forests filter seawater and cool the air, they also serve as a sanctuary for countless species, including juvenile reef fish, land crabs, and migratory and endemic birds.

Mangrove forests shield us from the destructive effects of hurricanes and, by capturing vast amounts of carbon, play a vital role in the battle against global climate change. In just 50 years, half of the world’s mangrove forests have been lost due to coastal development, agriculture, commercial fish farming, and pollution. Since 1976, 3,900 acres of Cayman’s mangroves have been destroyed, with what survives under increasing threat. Despite this accelerated destruction, Grand Cayman is still home to one of the largest contiguous mangrove forests in the Caribbean basin. Alarmingly, however, most of what remains is unprotected.

Through painting, installation, ceramics and video, Tangled World celebrates the ‘ugly beauty’ of the beguiling yet often unappreciated mangrove swamp. Beyond the confines of the gallery, the artists also seek to encourage opportunities for visitors to experience firsthand the complexity of these fragile ecosystems. It is their sincere hope that this exhibition opens a window to new perspectives, through which visitors come away with a more tangible sense of connection with this precious resource that is all but integral to our very survival.