The Cayman Islands National Museum hopes a new pilot project will allow them to share Caymanian artist Miss Lassie’s work with a much wider audience.
The museum, in partnership with the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF), is in the process of digitally documenting the rooms of the traditional wattle and daub cottage where late Gladwyn ‘Miss Lassie’ Bush once lived.
The aim is to recreate them in a virtual reality (VR) format so they can be viewed from anywhere in the world.
The project also provides a 3D record of the building – now called the Mind’s Eye Cultural Centre – and the art Miss Lassie painted on her walls and windows in case the building is damaged by natural disasters such as storms.
The museum’s exhibition co-ordinator, Al Ebanks, told Cayman Independent: “This project is about exploring new ways to connect people with Cayman’s heritage.
“Miss Lassie’s home is such a unique and fragile site, and using VR allows us to capture the spirit of her painted rooms in a way that can be shared more widely, especially with audiences who may not be able to visit in person.”
Ebanks said it is hoped the project will be particularly useful for connecting with younger generations, “showing them that heritage is something they are still very much part of shaping and preserving”.
They stressed that the physical preservation of the building and the art will always take priority, adding: “This is by no means a replacement of the work being done to preserve the built heritage, but to help reimagine how we preserve and conserve aspects of it.”
“Our hope is to create a long-lasting impact for the community by helping people connect with their built heritage and the stories that come with them in new ways.”
So far, the museum and CNCF have completed a VR model of one of Miss Lassie’s rooms, the Chapel, which features the largest amount of wall art, and plans to have finished the whole house by the end of the year.
The process involves taking measurements of each room and several photos, which are then fed into a special programme which creates the VR.
The museum has also begun a similar process with its own historic building, while also using it to plan out and document its exhibitions spaces.
Caymanian Miss Lassie, who died at the age of 89 in 2003, started painting when she was 62 on both canvas and her home and its furniture.
She received and MBE and a Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s Heritage Award and her art is part of private collections across the world.
The historic cottage and an adjoining duplex are looked after by the CNCF, and offers tours of the space which is also used to host visiting exhibitions.
