The artwork in this series was inspired by my graduate thesis research and its investigation into tantalizing ideas of a Caribbean fantasy destination. The artworks take the form of archival inkjet prints on paper, designed through both analog and digital methods of image layering and registration. The content for the posters references printed pamphlets that were commissioned by hotels in Grand Cayman in the 1960s and 1970s from a Miami-based advertisement company. These pamphlets were made during the first major tourist influx in Grand Cayman and were important tools for attracting tourists to the island for vacation getaways.

As I have made these prints, I have chosen to combine elements scanned from the original 1960s and 1970s tourist pamphlets for Grand Cayman with other visual elements. Elements I have collected from other printed materials like books, magazines (like National Geographic), etc. The imagery I sourced for the first set of posters ( titled: “Ancient Charm with Modern Convenience” and “See Your Travel Agent”) includes tropical vegetation from contemporary tourist magazines for Grand Cayman, Spanish and Catalan ceramics from museum catalogs, and a fragment of a portrait bust from an Oceanic culture (also collected from a museum catalog). The second set of prints ( titled: “Winter Haven Homes” and “Buccaneers Inn”) incorporate an alternate arrangement of visual elements. They include snippets from 1970s National Geographic articles covering islands in the Caribbean, African Nations, and Central and South American nations. I chose snippets from articles that focused on the poverty and “re-development” of these nations and juxtaposed them with other snippets from advertisements in the same National Geographic magazine. Snippets from advertisements for luxury home renovations, home insurance, luxury vehicles, collectible coins, and Caribbean resorts.

Image 1: “Ancient Charm with Modern Convenience”, 2021. Archival inkjet print on paper.

Image 2: “See Your Travel Agent”, 2019. Archival inkjet print on paper.

Image 3: “Ancient Charm with Modern Convenience”, 2021. Digital collage printed on archival paper, framed. 50x 38 in or 127 x 98 cm.

Image 4: “ See Your Travel Agent”, 2019. Digital collage printed on archival paper, framed. 50x 38 in or 127 x 98 cm.

Image 5: Image of “Ancient Charm with Modern Convenience” and “See Your Travel Agent” hung in the permanent collection of the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman.

Image 6: Image of “Ancient Charm with Modern Convenience” and “See Your Travel Agent” hung in the permanent collection of the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman.

Image 7: “Winter Haven”, 2022. Archival inkjet print on paper.

Image 8: “Buccaneers Inn”, 2022. Archival inkjet print on paper.

Image 9: “Winter Haven” and “Buccaneers Inn” printed and mounted in Alice Yard, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Image courtesy of Kriston Chen.