There was a wonderful flow of attendees to the Bermuda Society of Arts’ opening at the City Hall on Friday, June 6th and the five distinct exhibitions in the Onions and Edinburgh Galleries and Studios A, B and C amply rewarded this enthusiastic crowd.

Our History in Hats by Donna Pink and Ronnie (La Chapeau) Chameau immediately transcends context and narrative with an impeccable execution of display and stunning craftsmanship.

Starting in the 1700s to the 1950s with 28 hats in the collection and each one is made from dried plant materials: palm and kumani leaves, hydrangea, and philodendron to name a few.

I had the pleasure of having Ms Pink and Ms Chameau explain the concept of the exhibit and its genesis which evolved out of making the Halo hat for the Annual Exhibition.

“Ronnie and I wanted the artistic challenge of creating fashionable looks worn by Bermudian women from every era and we made this more challenging by doing so using organic materials.”

The level to which they have succeeded with this novel idea is enhanced tastefully with accompanying posters by Cathi.

In Studio A there is a series of drawings, Artwork from 2014 classes.

As a whole it may appear “uneven” on the surface — but as the saying goes; its aim is true.

Two immediate highlights are the nudes, Reclining Study by Vernon N Clarke and Two into One by Molly Godet.

There is a musical motif in the theme presented here by Clarke’s framing of the figure with a singing marriage of shape, pattern and design. Godet on the other hand has used space and linear silent in her drawing to great effect across two panels of paper.

Given its title Nature’s Insistence it was difficult to determine if there was a reach for the ironic by the artist or an attempt to avoid the possibility of cliché with a muted timbre and damp frequencies of colour.

The compositions of Susanna Kitson’s art Nature’s Insistence possessed a languid quality in its overall luminescence that was distracting to the pieces’ execution.

As a body, Nature’s Insistence evokes a phlegmatic tone and is absent of vibrancy or richness in the palettes’ harmony and as a result the tonalities presented here feel anaemic.

Earl Jones presents The Impossible Project as a collage of photographs on both sides of a hanging sheet of aluminium.

Its lack of theme approaches cinema verite, but fails or succeeds depending on the viewer’s perspective.

Its projections are a mix of confusing signals.

This piece tries to communicate signals that are simultaneously juvenile, unrealised feminine coyness and tepid in its attempts to be sexually sensational.

If there is a singular reason to see this show, it’s the student art competition, the Birds of Bermuda Show and the whimsical Bluebird Box Display that would be an enhancement to anyone’s backyard or open space.

These boxes will be auctioned on June 20th.