Exhibition
This mid-career survey exhibition examines the evolution of Al Ebanks’ practice as a leading figure in the development of Caymanian art over the past quarter century. A founding member of the Native Sons artist collective in 1996, Al Ebanks is renowned for his large-scale abstract paintings and amorphous sculptures inspired by the organic forms of nature and the human body. In a prolific career spanning thirty-three years, Ebanks has produced an iconic body of work while establishing a signature style that is instantly recognisable. The artist’s interdisciplinary practice encompasses painting, sculpture, installation, fashion design and performance, blurring the boundaries between media through an all-embracing approach to creative expression. Deeply invested in considerations of personal and collective identity, Ebanks’ expansive conception of the artist’s role in society reflects an unflinching commitment to equality and diversity—honouring community and the historical legacies of the Caymanian cultural experience, while forging his own path as a creative visionary whose voice is distinctly his own. Ebanks has participated in numerous group exhibitions at the National Gallery over the years, including Reimagined Futures: 2nd Cayman Islands Biennial (2021), Island of Women (2020), Upon the Seas (2017), and Native Sons: 20 Years On (2016), as well as the solo show Dancing to Art (2005) and The Body (2002). 33-Remnants of the Artist: Al Ebanks is the artist’s third solo exhibition at NGCI, and his first at the Gallery’s permanent site on Esterly Tibbetts Highway.
About the Artist
Al Ebanks
b. 1963
Born in George Town, sculptor and painter Al Ebanks was awarded a scholarship from the Cayman National Cultural Foundation in 1995 to study sculpture with renowned Barbadian artist Karl Broodhagen and later learned bronze casting in Tuscany through the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands’ Artists Away grant programme (2004). Ebanks co-founded the Native Sons artists collective in 1996 and was awarded CNCF’s Artistic Achievement Award in 2001. He has exhibited locally and abroad, including a solo show at the Jackie Gleason Theatre, Miami. His paintings were used on-screen for the feature film Haven (written and directed by Frank E. Flowers; 2004). Ebanks’ work is included in the permanent collections of the Cayman Islands National Museum, NGCI and the Griffin Gallery, Chicago. NGCI exhibitions include the solo exhibition Dancing to Art (2004), and Native Sons’ Fahive (2005), All Access (2015), Native Sons – Twenty Years On (2016), Upon the Seas (2017), Mediating Self (2017), Cross Currents – 1st Cayman Islands Biennial (2019), Island of Women: Life at Home During our Maritime Years (2020), Reimagined Futures: 2nd Cayman Islands Biennial (2021), and The People’s Collection: A 25-Year Cultural Legacy (2022).
