3rd Cayman Islands Biennial - National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
Photo by Katie O’Neil
Elizabeth Paige Smith exhibits her newest work, Searching for Sparrow, at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands from May 31st, 2023 to September 29th, 2023.
Elizabeth Paige Smith’s immersive video installation delves into the wellspring of memory as a compelling source of creative inspiration. Providing a poetic storyline, the fragmented form speaks to the implicit tensions between reality and the scattered recollections of subjective experience. Interweaving the journeys of three teenagers filmed on location in Grand Cayman, the artist portrays the parallel storylines of her principal protagonists - transporting viewers to the summer of 2004 before projecting forward almost twenty years in time. Meditating on themes of vulnerability, longevity and impermanence, ultimately nature itself emerges as the primary character in Smith’s compelling visual narrative.
Smith is an artist based both in Venice Beach, California, and Grand Cayman. With a bachelor’s in Fine Art from the University of Kansas School of Fine Arts, Smith has designed commissioned furniture pieces for numerous high-profile clients. Following a a prolific career within the field of design, in 2009, she decided to focus on the development of her new multi-disciplinary practice and has since sought to transform herself and her work. Following her creative intuition, she explores contrasting methodologies to convey the experience, magnitude, and rawness of primal emotions. Her work has been featured in the NGCI exhibition, Pop & the Popular (2022). -WH
“Organized under the title Conversations with the Past - In the Present Tense, the theme of this Biennial takes as its starting point the ways in which history continues to reverberate in the present. Reflecting on the role the past plays in shaping both personal and collective identity, the exhibition considers the multi-faceted nature of Caymanian culture by seeking to initiate conversations around our common understanding of its various social, political, and artistic legacies. The premise for this exhibition draws inspiration from the writings of cultural theorist Stuart Hall, who defined identity not only as a matter of ‘being’ but of ‘becoming’, ‘belonging as much to the future as it does to the past’. This model of identity encourages a variety of creative re-interpetations of the subject. including the ways in which our individual and collective sense of self is shaped by the interplay of history, memory, and subjective experience. Facilitating engagement with topical themes and subject matter, the biennial lastly seeks to encourage constructive dialogue among artists and audiences, providing a platform for affirmative and thought-provoking conversations.” National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
Behind the scenes… Elizabeth on location in her pop-up island studio editing Searching for Sparrow in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
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Pop & the Popular - National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
CRASH! / E-Type Jag 82 x 29 x 2.5 inches / TransAm 74 x 41 x 2.5 inches / Crab 64 x 43 x 2.5 inches/ resin coated wood / 2022
Elizabeth Paige Smith exhibits her newest work at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands from October 21st, 2022 to February 10th, 2023.
CRASH! / E-Type Jag 82 x 29 x 2.5 inches / TransAm 74 x 41 x 2.5 inches / Crab 64 x 43 x 2.5 inches/ resin coated wood / 2022
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Cayman Art Week 2022
Cayman Art Week 2022 was hosted from June 22 to June 26.
“Cayman Art Week (CAW) is a week-long curated programme of gallery tours and open studios around the Cayman Islands, held annually in June. Designed to celebrate and encourage the collection of Caymanian art, CAW offers unparalleled access to over 30 art venues and provides a singular platform through which to showcase a range of discussions, pop-up interventions and exhibitions to local and international audiences. We are dedicated to ensuring Cayman’s cultural landscape continues to thrive by connecting collectors with creators to facilitate the sale of art.“ -Cayman Art Week Website
During Cayman Art Week, Elizabeth Paige Smith traveled on-site to show a 3-channel video installation with immersive sound, titled “Sanctuary: the Sun, the Sea, and the Matriarch”. The piece consisted of three 6’ aluminum rings with fabric stretched over to create circular projection screens synced up with separate projectors and Syng cells. This configuration ran a 10 minute loop of a visual and audio sensory experience for viewers on the second floor of the Brittania Clubhouse.
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