Swiss and Bahamas-based Cornèr Bank, the first to offer locals direct access to global markets through its trading platform, opened its newest art exhibition March 28 and just as it did months before when it unveiled CornèrTrader open for Bahamian business, it managed to stun a sophisticated audience.
Nearly 100 men, women and children turned out to meet, greet and shake their heads as if disbelieving the probability of the work of artist Pia Oyarzun.
Oyarzun, a tiny, attractive woman with long, dark hair and a creative mind that juxtaposes the beauty of a shark’s movement with the underwater dance of a human, is a photographer and video artist.
Crowd pleaser – Cornèr Bank (Bahamas) Ltd. opened its latest art exhibit to a full house at its Old Fort Town Centre location recently. The Lugano, Switzerland-headquartered financial services provider that has been ranked #1 Swiss bank for capital soundness by The Banker four years in a row recently introduced a new slate of products following its launch of a real-time independent trading platform for residents of the Bahamas.
She free dives, holds her breath for a minute or more, flows through crevices between coral reefs, snapping or being videotaped to edit and produce work unlike any other.
In one video image, she is the diver, in another, a model pushes off the rusted bow of an underwater wreck, using the ship as a launch pad as she thrusts forward, back flips and somersaults through the waters below, all the while dressed in a flowing white gown.
In every scene and every image, the model or subject is a surprise calling attention not only to their own performance in an unlikely dress in an unlikely place but to the beauty of the marine life around them.
Artist Pia Oyarzun free dives, frequently reaching 60 feet and holding her breath for a minute or more to capture images of the majesty of the underwater world. Part proceeds from the sale of her work at Cornèr Bank, Old Fort Bay Town Center, will go to the Perry Institute for shark research in The Bahamas.
Brazilian-born Oyarzun came to The Bahamas more than five years ago to work for Stuart Cove Dive. It was there her interest in underwater photography became a passion and her desire to frame and capture on canvas evolved into a commitment to protect what she filmed.
Part proceeds from the sale of her work at the Cornèr Bank event went to the Perry Institute for shark research in The Bahamas.
“It was hard at first, very hard,” said Oyarzun. “But soon I learned how to hold my breath for long periods of time underwater and it felt natural. The animals, they are so beautiful. The ocean is my passion. I hope you get to see it for yourself, to love it, to protect it.”
Because Oyarzun and her subjects like Cornèr Bank Vice President Myriam Larbi-McKenzie, ACSI, make floating through the waters sans scuba gear look so easy, show attendees were equally impressed by the how and the result.
Banker Werner Gruner called the work “artful, tasteful.”
“It is a kind of art that I have never encountered before. I am accustomed to seeing art above the water, but never have I seen art created more than 20 metres (60 feet) underwater. What she has done is taken us on a journey with a result that is artful and tasteful.”
Trust attorney and fund manager Rawiya Rahming, appropriately attired in a power suit, just looked at the casual side of creating beauty and confessed going to work in bathing gear had to be the happiest job of all.
ABOUT CORNÈR BANK Cornèr Bank (Overseas Ltd) is a private bank licensed in The Bahamas with a physical presence in Old Fort Bay Town Center and at 308 East Bay Street. It is a member of Cornèr Bank Group, the #1 bank in Switzerland in terms of capital soundness, as confirmed by The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks ranking for the fourth consecutive year. Cornèr Bank has a 60-year history in Switzerland and over 20 years in The Bahamas.
