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Artists Provoke Island-wide Discussion About our Relationship with Trash
Utilising a range of techniques and a wide variety discarded materials, a group of local visual artists in collaboration with Plastic Free Cayman are transforming trash to create works of art and raise awareness about waste and its environmental impact.
“Several of us collaborated on a bottle cap project led by Jessica Mittleman alongside Plastic Free Cayman and we all recognised the synergy between us and our drive to create work using discarded materials and help raise awareness,” explained participating artist Kerwin Ebanks. “It took off as soon as soon as we started to share ideas about repurposing, recycling, reusing, reclaiming, upcycling, and restoring materials to create art. It was only natural produce a group art exhibition.”
The exhibition titled TRASH TALKS, opened 1 April 2019 at the Premier Wine and Spirits, Tap Room and includes work by Joseph Betty, Marcia Codner, Kerwin G Ebanks, Kaitlyn Elphinstone, Carlo Lee, Jessica Mittleman, June South-Robinson, STOAK’D and Marianna Szekely. The art exhibition runs for the full month of April and members of the public are invited to meet the artists on 15 April 2019 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM. “The 15th of April is an important day for us as we embrace the culture of Earth Day, celebrate environmentally friendly practices, and strive to practice responsible habits all year round,” explained participating artist June South-Robinson.
This is the first art exhibition to be held at the Premier Wine and Spirits, Tap Room location said Sabrina Stecyk, Manager of Premier Retail who recently took the Plastic Free Cayman 345 Pledge for Businesses. “The idea for an art exhibition initially came from wanting to do something for Earth Day. We don’t use plastic straws in our bar or have plastic bags or to go cups, we’re not perfect but try our best to do our part.”
“I think it’s amazing to take something so negative and make something so beautiful out of trash. There is a serious waste problem and people are usually quite oblivious to the garbage we produce. I wanted to support this group of artists, celebrate Earth Day, and hopefully help our community to think twice about using that plastic bag, or taking a to-go cup,” added Stecyk.
The exhibition also features eye-catching outdoor art installations by Joseph Betty and STOAK’D which further draws attention to the exhibition’s theme and location.
Tania Knapik the Sales and Marketing Coordinator of NCB Group who granted the artists permission to include outdoor art installations at the Cayman Technology Centre said, “our goal is not just to build commercial spaces but to create communities, ones that thrive and remain self-sufficient long after the developer has moved on. We want our communities to be healthy, stable, and sustainable so supporting the TRASH TALKS art exhibition was a perfect fit for us.”
Admission to the TRASH TALKS art exhibition is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs 1 April 2019 to 30 April 2019 and is open Mondays to Fridays from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Saturdays from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Premier Wine and Spirits, Tap Room located at the Cayman Technology Centre, 115 Printer Way. A “Meet the Artists” event takes place 15 April 2019 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM. For more information about the group visit www.facebook.com/trashtalkscayman.
