Davin Ebanks wins NG award with catboat sculpture
From The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
Davin Ebanks’s interpretation of an iconic Caymanian symbol, the catboat, is the winner of National Gallery’s Cayman sculpture competition.
Mr. Ebanks will receive a $10,000 grand prize and financing for the production and installation of the piece. The winning sculpture is expected to be installed in front of the National Gallery, off Esterley Tibbetts Highway, on July 1.
Mr. Ebanks’s submission, “Adjacent,” is a minimalist onyx and glass concrete sculpture, which complements the building’s elegant design, Gallery officials said. Two half-models of the vessel standing upright intersect to symbolize the bow and the stern of the catboat. The result of their interaction is suggestive of a crossroad or a passageway, individuality and dialogue, permanence and timelessness, according to the Gallery.
The national public art competition was staged in partnership with Water Authority Cayman to celebrate the water company’s 30th anniversary and to create a permanent piece of public art in front of the Gallery’s new building.
Six finalists were selected in the first stage of the competition, which aimed for works that were the most structurally and technically sound while being creative and imaginative. Artists also had to show in great detail how the piece would be built, and its relationship to the building and the area.
The six finalists were:
Wray Banker for ‘Green Manga Season’
Davin Ebanks for ‘Adjacent’
Davin Ebanks for ‘Crescent’
Bendel Hydes for ‘Anchorage’
Karoly Szücs for ‘Connection’
Scott Swing for ‘Upon the Sea’
Avril Ward for ‘Walk on Water’
The National Gallery and the Water Authority said Mr. Ebanks’s sculpture “speaks to the high calibre of art being produced for the islands and clearly demonstrated a connection to both the historic and contemporary cultural environment of the Cayman Islands.”
The seven members of the jury awarded second place to Ms. Ward and third place to Mr. Szücs.
A public exhibition of all submissions runs through March 22 at the National Gallery auditorium.
