From the first map of Bermuda drawn by Sir George Somers to modern works by Graham Foster, four centuries of Bermuda's art are celebrated in an upcoming exhibition at the Bermuda National Gallery.
4 Centuries: Evolving Art, which has a dedicated space for each century, was the brainchild of the Bermuda National Trust.
It explores how Bermuda's art has responded to the changing social, political and economic forces we have experienced over the past four hundred years.
The show begins with the basic, functional art of the 1600s where maps and furniture are prominent - it was a time before we had the luxury of paintings.
As wealth grew in the 1700s so did our art. Many found wealth through ship-building and we see a growth of portraiture as demanded by the rich.
In the 1800s we have the building of Dockyard and the exhibition takes a turn for more topographical drawings. Coming into the 1900s we see the onset of tourism and the influence of the Americans and modernism on the island. During the 21st century we are influenced by multiculturalism and the commerce here with international business.
A film by Bermudian filmmaker Lucinda Spurling will encapsulate the entire exhibition.
Gallery curator Sophie Cressall said: "In the 1600s you didn't have a lot of political art. At this time people were making pieces in order to use them. We have one of the first maps drawn by Sir George Somers. It's hilarious; he drew little men with the ship's dog chasing the hogs and someone riding on a turtle's back.
"There are many historical events our art has responded to. We see how tourism massively changed our art forms in the 19th century; the paintings look more at landscape. Then there was the onset of the maritime environment - the 19th century was really informed by the military art. They would have been trained as topographical artists.
"In the late 1800s early 1900s you have the onset of overseas artists coming in - American impressionists came to Bermuda for the climate. They used the island as a place to convalesce.
Because of our geography we have welcomed people from the outside world as well as sending them out.
Surrealism
"We have the early modernistic photography of John Phale, who looks at the surreal aspect of the Bermuda triangle."
One of our most well known photographers Richard Saunders features in the exhibition. He had to leave the island in the 1950s due to segregation but in doing so created an enormous career.
"His images are incredibly moving and again for political purposes you look at segregation. The end of segregation was an enormous part of Bermuda's history and these pieces respond to that," said Ms Cressall. "International business really did change the way of the arts in Bermuda. I think Bermuda needs to embrace that multi culturalism. We have included work by Graham Foster which uses African influences."
Other artists to feature in the exhibition include Desmond Fountain, known for his sculpture work (Mark Twain and Johnny Barnes) and one of the first black Bermudians to study abroad, the prominent artist Charles Lloyd Tucker.
As well as exploring the effect of major political and social events on our art 4 Centuries: Evolving Art also looks at cultural shifts in our history.
One installation looks at how our perception of marriage has changed over the years.
"This is an installation and we are looking at time - the theme of the exhibition. We have juxtaposed two wedding dresses from two centuries - one from the 1800s and one from 2000. You can see there is beautiful embroidery in the earlier dress which celebrates marriage.
"The other dress is by Katherine Harriot who has just been accepted into an exhibition in Chicago. She has modelled this wedding dress as a straitjacket. The buttons on the back are little padlocks. We have used the clock to reference time and how time changes our culture and society.
"I hope people come and see this exhibition and are informed by it and see how art does respond to social, political, cultural events."
