| Project Title | holding |
| Venue | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands |
| Date | August-December 2024 |
Esther Johnson: holding
The Cayman Islands have a strong history of hand making which is bound within the cultural identity of the Islands. Within living memory most of these traditions have disappeared. One heritage tradition that has survived is that of storytelling.
The project involved a series of participatory workshops intending to evoke and capture discussion around the Caymanian heritage tradition of hand net making. The public facing encounters involved the collaborative process of making the net. The formed net and its accompanying book were later displayed in a semi-formal setting and subsequent public facing encounters involved interaction with participants and others on a beach and within participants’ places of work.
artist statement
My work draws on the oral storytelling traditions of the Caribbean, whilst speaking to the processes and values of disappearing heritage craft practises. Inspired and informed by the tactile language of traditional ways of making, My sculptural work references practical objects such as baskets and nets, Yet these sculptures hold no practical use in themselves. In their loss of usefulness they confront the lost or dying skills and knowledge of the practises and processes used to make them.
My sculptures are constructed through manipulating and repurposing abandoned and found materials. In each case the materials are sourced within the locality of the piece being created. Their use allows me to encounter the histories of these materials and bind them to the narratives of the place in which they have been found. They hold not only the physical materials they are constructed of, but also the intangible elements of local stories and cultural practices.
My practice often involves collaboration with local artisans and bearers of heritage craft skills. Together, we share knowledge, bridging generational and cultural divides, and create works that are as much, if not more, about the process as the finished piece.
I search for new ways to gather, hold and celebrate the small stories of the people I meet and work with.
contextual statement
The twenty participants who knotted the net were aged between 7 and 95. Reflecting the richly diverse mix of the population in Cayman they were from a range of demographics; different cultural backgrounds, places of birth (Cayman, other Caribbean countries and other continents) and forms of employment (cleaners, students, laundresses, fishermen, a garage mechanic, a business manager, a security guard, a surgeon and a beach attendant). Each contributed their own stories.
Involving participatory processes, the project centred on accrual; both of a heritage skill and of the stories generated through collective practice. The net making was not about creating a functioning object but about the act of making itself. The storytelling component offered space for tension since participants held conflicting perspectives on the value of reviving net-tying in an art context. These disparate voices were celebrated and embraced.
The net itself became a literal and metaphorical carrier bag; gathering not only physical materials (rope, knots) but also the intangible elements of stories and cultural practices. The project challenged heroic narratives by emphasising collaboration, small stories and shared ownership.
Participant conversations and stories were recorded during the making of the net and selected fragments hand sewn onto found material using fishing twine. The embroidered material was loosely woven into the net. The act of embroidering was a labour intensive process that emphasised the physical act of making as a form of storytelling.
Part of the project involved a book – ‘hold’. Written in pencil, it creates an intentionally ephemeral record of the small stories. The words will blur and fade over time; a metaphor for the impermanence of cultural memory and identity, reflecting how cultural identities are hybrid and fluid.
The project intended to foster intergenerational and intercultural connections through collective making and storytelling. The location of audience encounter in public spaces and workplaces extended its relationality beyond the initial participants, inviting broader audiences to engage with the artefact and its narratives.
The embroidered element of the project was loosely woven into the net and easily moved. Participants were encouraged to interact with all parts of the net. Each manipulation of the net’s elements by the audience creates a new version of the net, reflecting how stories alter with each retelling, whilst highlighting the fragility and impermanence of the heritage skill that formed it.
LINKS:
https://www.estherjohnsonart.com
https://www.instagram.com/estherjohnsonart
