Memories from the devastating days of 2004 are recalled in a new exhibition, “Ivan Remembered” at the National Gallery that marks the 10-year anniversary of the hurricane.
The exhibition features photographs that highlight the destruction of the Category 5 storm, along with personal accounts of the storm, sourced from the Cayman Islands National Archives’s oral history program transcripts, which are printed alongside each image.
Featured photographers include Courtney Platt, David Wolfe, Sheree Ebanks, Julie Corsetti, Mary McCallum, Jenna Arnold, Darvin Ebanks, Norman Linton, Art Pasquali and Leslie Alcott Williams.
“While it has been 10 years since the storm passed, most of us viewing the National Gallery’s ‘Ivan Remembered’ exhibition continue to have strong, emotion-laden memories associated with Ivan and its aftermath,” said curator Natalie Urquhart.
“Whether we experienced the storm directly or anxiously awaited news of loved ones from abroad, the series of photos on display will bring back a variety of feelings: loss, fear and disbelief, as well as hope, resilience and community,” she added.
The exhibition, which runs through Sept. 27, features 45 large format photographs by eight photographers along with the quotes from the public about both their harrowing and uplifting experiences during and after Ivan.
Urquhart initially reached out to photographers Platt and Wolfe, who worked with the National Gallery in 2004 on the “Emergence” exhibition – the gallery’s first exhibition following the storm.
“Both photographers extensively documented the aftermath of Ivan and their moving images illustrate our journey from the destruction to rebuilding – the journey we wanted to highlight,” Urquhart explained.
“When selecting the images, we were looking for strong composition and an emotive quality, and importantly high resolution,” she said.
“It’s been a very emotional process to review and select images for ‘Ivan Remembered.’ They really take you back to those initial days after the storm. I didn’t expect to be so moved so many years on,
“We hope that the moving collection of images will help to memorialize this moment in our history and provide a path through this complex emotional terrain.”
She adde, “As a curator, it’s been one of the most important and meaningful projects that I have worked on.”
‘Spider Tree’
Platt has more than 15 photographs in this year’s exhibition. One of his most striking pieces is “Spider Tree,” also referred to as the “Dear Life Tree.”
“In a single image, the ‘Dear Life Tree’ epitomizes both the horrific winds and the power of the storm surge that Ivan brought upon the south coast,” he explained.
The tree literally hung on for “dear life,” as 150 mph winds shook the entire island.
“While an entire row of adjacent Casuarina trees were toppled as Hurricane Ivan stripped nearly 3 feet of sand from the south coast, this one held on for dear life,” the photographer said.
Despite the harsh winds and rain, the tree was left standing, with some of its roots still planted in the sand.
“This tree had been the only survivor for hundreds of yards near the Red Bay boat dock in South Sound,” he said.
“Sadly, a bulldozer operator cleared it away in the weeks that followed or it might have recovered as a living memorial,” he said.
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