My Art is My Life: Miss Lassie Exhibition opens to appreciative attendees

(CMR) The private opening of the first major retrospective of Miss Lassie’s paintings in years attracted a host of attendees recently. Guests to the ‘My Art is My Life’ exhibition included His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Martyn Roper; Deputy Premier and Minister for Financial & Economic Development and Border Control & Labour, Hon. Chris Saunders and Deputy Governor, Hon. Franz Manderson.

The show begins its one-day tours of the districts at North Side Civic Centre, Friday, 19 November 2021, and East End Civic Centre, Saturday, 20 November, times to be announced.

The exhibition, held in the Mind’s Eye Education Centre behind Miss Lassie’s home on South Church Street, George Town, featured 38 paintings. Staged by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF), the opening evening on Thursday, 4 November included remarks by Minister Bernie Bush, the exhibition’s curator, and CNCF’s Artistic Director,  Henry Muttoo, and CNCF’s Chairman,  Martyn Bould.

Minister Bush said: “Here in Miss Lassie’s sand yard with her wattle and daub house and the Mind’s Eye Education Centre, we are at the very epicenter of where the artist created her dynamic works, which are some of the brightest and the best examples of Caymanian art.

“Gladwyn Klosking ‘Lassie’ Bush was 62 years old when she first put paintbrush to canvas. The brilliance and expertise of this prolific storyteller of distinctly Caymanian themes and her intensely vivid religious life, makes this show a must-see exhibition,” he explained.

Minister Bush affirmed that the ministry is working diligently to ensure partnerships with those entities whose mission is to support initiatives that showcase Caymanian creativity and culture.

Mr. Muttoo said: “The property, Miss Lassie’s story and her paintings are gifts of collective cultural memory, which we have all but lost.

“If we are smart, and if we have any love and respect for ourselves as Caymanians, they must remain inviolable. They must remain as sanctified as the day Miss Lassie’s father planted the first ironwood post… as sanctified as the day, almost 18 years ago, when Miss Lassie was called home,” he added.

Other VIP attendees were Minister for Health & Wellness, Hon. Sabrina Turner; Parliamentary Secretary for Culture and Planning, Mr. Isaac Rankine and Parliamentary Secretary for Social Development and Tourism, Ms Heather Bodden also toured the show. A souvenir program was available.

The Cayman Islands Folk Singers, which included MYSCH Chief Officer Teresa Echenique and CNCF Managing Director Marcia Muttoo, performed at the event.