The Islands Time Forgot: Life of Caymanian Turtle Fishermen
Cayman Islands Journal
A new exhibition at the National Gallery, being held in partnership with the National Archive, offers a rare glimpse into Cayman’s past
The Islands Time Forgot, which recently opened at the National Gallery, in partnership with the Cayman Islands National Archive (CINA), features rare collection of photographs of Caymanian turtle fisherman in 1939. Taken by a youngrenowned American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan, some of the first recorded photographs of Caymanian turtle fishermen in the Mosquito Cays they pay tribute to the crew of the A.M Adams and to the twilight years of an industry once so central to life in our Islands.
Duncan is among the most influential photographers of the 20th century. He is best known for his dramatic war images which were first taken when he was a U.S. Marine combat photographer and later for Life magazine. While working with Life he captured numerous historical events including “the end of the British occupation of India”, the emergence of the Saudi Arabian oil boom, the consequences of the Iron Curtain and the Vietnam War. Photographs taken by Duncan of the Korean War were featured in his 1951 book This is War! which earned him recognition as the preeminent combat photographer of the period. Duncan later went on to publish seven books on the life of Picasso, featuring some of the most intimate portraits of the famous artist.
Duncan’s passion for photography was sparked after receiving a 39-cent Bakelite Univex Model A as an 18th birthday present from his sister Jean, however it wasn’t until four years later upon graduating from the University of Miami that he began his career in earnest. On graduation day Duncan headed south to the Keys and soon found himself aboard a Thompson Fish Company schooner sailing to the Mosquito Cays, with a brief stop in the Cayman Islands, a place few had heard of at the time. Duncan referred to them as ‘the Islands time forgot.’
Duncan set sail from Grand Cayman in February 1939 to photograph the lives of Caymanian turtle fishermen on the Mosquito Cays. He was a guest of Captain Allie Ebanks on board the Thompson owned schooner the A.M Adams. In a letter home, Duncan wrote of his experience as the “life I’ve dreamed of” sailing through the Caribbean Sea while “hunting giant sea turtles with Cayman Islanders”. Mooring off the Swan Islands he learned to cut coconuts and discovered huge iguanas that looked “prehistoric”.
Through words and images Duncan skilfully describes the intensity of the turtling profession, while capturing the quiet stillness of the men at rest. His deep admiration for these men is apparent
throughout, “For theirs was an ancient profession,” he writes, “…where a boy earned manhood upon an often empty sea.”
In 1999, Duncan donated to CINA 24 original images of the journey to the Mosquito Cays. The exhibition includes these images and 11 others from CINA’s Photographic Collections, which depict not only the life of the Caymanian turtle fisherman, but also provide a panoramic view of life at the time.
The exhibition’s opening drew a crowd of approximately 200, including the family of Captain Allie Ebanks in addition to Dinah Brooks, god-daughter of DDD, who had come all the way from Kansas, Missouri to speak at the event. Ms Brooks spoke eloquently about the chance meeting between DDD and Captain Allie, so many years ago now, that had resulted in a life-long friendship and the intimate collection of images on display. She said that David, now in his 95th year, was extremely excited about the exhibition given his long infinity to the Cayman Islands. Hon. Rolston Anglin, Minister for Education, Training and Employment, spoke about the value of using authentic archival material for educational purposes and commended CINA and the NGCI for bringing the rare collection into the public sphere for all to appreciate. Hon. Mark Scotland, Minister for Health, Environment, Youth, Sports and Culture spoke of the importance of photography as social commentary. “The Cayman that he depicted so eloquently through his photographs is mostly gone today and we are therefore culturally indebted to Mr. Duncan for capturing an exceptional time in our history,” he said. “As someone once remarked, “Remembering the past gives power to the present.” Through Mr. Duncan’s eyes then, we can relive our past and tap into some much-needed inspiration at a time when most of us feel that change is far too constant and rapid.”
Speaking on behalf of herself and Mrs Kimlon Seymour, Director for the National Archive, NGCI Director Mrs Urquhart spoke of the increased opportunities provided by their partnership given the two entities shared mission’s to preserve and promote the arts and cultural heritage in the Cayman Islands. She went on to talk about the invaluable educational opportunities that would be generated by the exhibition through cross curricular learning packs that had been developed to accompany the photographs on display and thatb would be available to all school children free of charge.
“The Cayman Islands National Archive was excited to get the National Gallery on board to showcase the David Douglas Duncan Collection. CINA is actively working towards ensuring our more significant archival collections are available to members of the public through partnerships with organisations like the National Gallery. As keepers of the nation’s memory, CINA is delighted to have this wonderful opportunity in presenting these images to the community. This exhibit portrays the intricacies of the turtling industry and the hardships of the voyage; Duncan will be known to us as the man whose photographs captured our ‘ironmen of the sea’,” comments Josette K. Seymour, Director, National Archive.
“We are delighted to be partnering with CINA to exhibit these stunning portraits for the very first time in the Cayman Islands,” says Natalie Urquhart, NGCI Director. “This moving collection will give visitors a direct insight into the life and work of Cayman’s turtle fishermen at a time when this way of life, once the mainstay of our existence, was beginning to disappear.”
DDD Quotes taken from Duncan, David Douglas. Yankee Nomad: a photographic odyssey. Canada: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966.