Bermuda’s social issues reflected in show

The Eyes on the World exhibition tackling social issues both globally and locally seems to have hit a nerve in Bermuda.

The show, which opened in January in partnership with the Alexia Foundation, was supposed to be pulled down in May but was extended to August due to public interest. 

Now the Bermuda National Gallery’s director Lisa Howie has announced a new Eyes on the World series which opens this evening and will run until the end of the year. 

Hunger, domestic violence, division — they are all social issues that are relevant to Bermuda and the world at large, and they are all addressed in the new show. 

Meredith Andrew’s Portrait Series about identity and social construct has also been extended to feature Bermuda fathers. 

Domestic abuse

One fascinating series of photographs was submitted by University of North Carolina student Sara Lewkowicz who inadvertently found herself in the midst of a domestic violence outbreak. She had been photographing an Ohio couple — Shane and Maggie — for a series about the difficulties felons face when they are released from prison when the focus of the story suddenly changed. While she was shooting Shane began to physically abuse Maggie in front of their two-year-old daughter Memphis and the resulting shots are on what are on display at the National Gallery. 

BNG director Lisa Howie told the Bermuda Sun: “The pictures are not staged — they were taken during a real case of domestic violence in action. While it documents their tragic turmoil, at the same time it gives us hope because Maggie has taken advice of her legal council and the police and is looking to break the chain.”

Local photojournalist and Bermuda Sun photographer Nicola Muirhead is also exhibiting as part of the show with a focus on the Daily Bread food drive for which she is a volunteer. Muirhead let her photos speak for themselves choosing to attach no captions to the images but an introductory piece explains that some 30,000 free meals have been served by the charity since January alone. She said: “My hope is that these images will convey the depth and emotion behind the work of the programme. I wanted this photographic essay to be honest, and therefore I will let the images speak for themselves. The purpose of looking at hunger through the lens of Daily Bread is to bring about hope in our community and to acknowledge an organization that we can serve for a better Bermuda.”

Howie added: “Nicola tells a really great story and she has some wonderful quotes from the people who work there. 

“It is sad and it is a really important issue that basic human rights aren’t being properly attended to in Bermuda.”

Other issues addressed in the exhibition include climate chance in Bangladesh, child marriage in India, adoption from Russia to America and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Meredith Andrews Portrait Series sits separately from Eyes on the World and aims to “provoke and inquiry into identity and social construct.” Her large-scale images aim to imitate 18th century family portraits she offers a glimpse into contemporary parenting in Bermuda. 

The exhibitions reflect a new direction for the BNG. Curator Sophie Cressall explained: “The role of the museum in today’s society is an important part of this exhibition. The museum is a space which addresses social issues and I think that we are moving beyond only being repositories of artwork — we are also taking on another role which is being socially relevant and continuing to address issues that come up in the art.”

Eyes on the World and Fathers’ Portaits open tonight at 5:30pm to 7pm. Also opening is Botanicals by Charlotte Anna Lefroy. Continuing exhibits are Women Artists from the BNG Collection and Impressions of Bermuda, David L White.