The Board of the Barbados National Art Gallery is pleased to share news of the acquisition of two works by Cy Hutchinson: “Protection Series 11” and “Protection Series 12” (2023). These works were created for Hutchinson’s 2023 solo exhibition at Queen’s Park Gallery titled ‘A Collection of Pointless Objects’. The artist described this series as having an “underlying theme of protection; whether the piece represents a shield, a weapon, an amulet or a cleansing process.” He continues, “the Greenheart for these two works was sourced from a boardwalk refurbishment in Bridgetown along the Careenage. These were some of the supporting beams under the walkway that were being discarded and I was fortunate to get a few of them. The pattern on the pierced piece - Protection Series 11 - was done entirely freehand and any defects, bolt or nail holes etc. were incorporated into the design. There are 130 holes along the two edges that were bound with sinew, each hole took between 4-8 feet of sinew and there are a total of 355 holes overall. The piece with the carbon fiber - Protection Series 12 - had a very weathered texture which I appreciated and decided to work with, it also had two large holes (one top, one bottom) which I decided to mirror about a horizontal and vertical axis resulting in the eight holes that I had decided on for the finished work. The carbon fiber piece was tapered both ends, bound with cord in selected areas and subtly highlighted with solid 18k gold which compliments and lifts the tones in the wood. It also satisfied my need to use modern materials in work representative of ancient artifacts.”
Artist Cy Hutchinson with Chairperson of the BNAG Board Alissandra Cummins, Deputy Chairperson Allison Thompson and Board Member Natalie McGuire.
Installation image of “Protection Series 11” on display at Queen’s Park Gallery, 2023. Photograph by Nathaniel Gunby and courtesy Cy Hutchinson
Installation image of “Protection Series 12” on display at Queen’s Park Gallery, 2023. Photograph by Nathaniel Gunby, and courtesy Cy Hutchinson.
