Artist Marc Laurenson will present a new collection of work in his upcoming week-long solo exhibition, ‘Turtle Stew’.
The show brings together creations from Laurenson’s art companies Stoakd and Dos Tortugas and runs from 22 to 28 October at Carlos V Garcia Fine Art Gallery at The Grove in West Bay.
Embracing one of Cayman’s most iconic creatures, the exhibition depicts the Cayman Islands and its cultural heroes as “a community of turtles”, Laurenson told Cayman Independent.
“Some are going to be painted, some of them are going to be recycled, some of them are just going to be prints,” he explained.
“The idea is for everybody to have an opportunity to find one that they resonate with and say, ‘Hey, this one’s mine. I like this one.’”
The collection began as an NFT venture through Dos Tortugas but has grown into a cultural project for Laurenson.
The exhibition seeks to integrate the various cultures and identities that comprise Cayman.
It will honour figures like Constable Fabian O’Connor Sr, known as the dancing policeman, the late artist Ronald ‘Foots’ Kynes, and Ivan Farrington, known for dressing up as the devil at Hell in West Bay.
“We fully packed the stew full of turtle,” he said. “There is a turtle for everybody.”
Other instalments will be “weird and wonderful”, including a depiction of Cayman as Bikini Bottom from Spongebob Squarepants – drawing a connection between ‘the pineapple under the sea’ and the pineapple in Cayman’s coat of arms.
Opening night is 22 October from 6pm to 9pm. Organisers have asked guests to RSVP at stoakd1@gmail.com
