The Bermuda Society of Arts is presently showing four distinctly different exhibitions and all four are worth seeing.

The four exhibitions are the "Green" show in the Onions Gallery, the Christopher Grimes, Stella Shakerchi painting exhibition in the Edinburgh Gallery. Alex Hammond's pop art paintings in Studio A and, finally, April Branco's drawings in Studio B.

"Green" has many different meanings but in recent times, it is often associated with environmental concerns.

There are other meanings as well; someone lacking experience is said to be green or green might refer to sickness, as in "green around the gills". In the US, "green stuff " refers to money.

Of course, artists may overlook the symbolic meanings and simply use green as a colour. Don't forget, though, that green is also associated with the Irish and St. Patrick's Day, which comes at this time of year.

Some artists may use green in such ways as to suggest multiple meanings. There is one artist in this show who has done just that.

Overall, the artists in this show, have employed green in many of its ramifications and in some cases, while the actual colour green may be absent from a work altogether, it can nevertheless be implied. This is especially true of art concerned with the environment. It could feasibly be about an environmental situation, while never using even a hint of green. Still, it might very well be referred to as green.

Vaughn Evans is using green in his monotype, in such a way; as to suggest multiple meanings and once again, as in the last BSoA show, "Artist's Voices", he has given expression to his anger over the BSoA eviction notice.

I am surprised though, that more are not dealing with that topic, as well. After all, it should be of utmost concern to all Bermuda's artists. In Evan's print, there is a cryptic, almost subliminal message in the background. It is obviously made up of letters, even if everything is backwards; when it is deciphered, however, the message, money and power is repeated many times over.

The fact that the letters are backward, may, in itself, be another aspect of the message. The main subject in this print is a depiction of the Mayor of Hamilton who, being green, suggests inexperience. He is seen shaking hands with a representative of the PLP, who is also green, the symbolic colour of the PLP. Theirs is a left-handed shake. What does that suggest?

At the bottom of the print is a message and this time it's clearly spelled out: "To convert a custom-made Art Gallery into office space, violates the cultural needs of this community. Do we have the right leaders?" I have highlighted the Evans print, because it is easily the most provocative work in the whole exhibition.

Given the current situation in which we find the arts in Bermuda, it needs to take centre stage. As it is, however, Evans' print is somewhat obscured in a corner of the gallery.

There are many other notable works of art in the "Green" show, which is, itself, a fairly large exhibition. The exhibition consists of 53 works of art altogether. I have singled out only those that most caught my attention. It is not possible to cover everything. Heidi Cowen has contributed two small paintings of note, especially her 'Prickly Pear'. Rhona Emmerson's 'Reflected Light', simply glows. It is most striking in its quality of light.

Alice Coutet has three competent paintings on show, but her 'Southlands', is the most provocative. Due to the politics involved with that site, the subject is automatically environmental – and bear in mind; the Southlands hotel situation has simmered down for the moment; nothing yet about the alternative site at Morgan's Point is fully decided, or at least publicly settled. Rhona Emmerson also has a view of 'Southlands Gate'. Both are decidedly green paintings, in the environmental crisis camp.

Tricia Walters has four photographs on exhibit, but her 'Green Fingers', is especially imaginative. In photography, as much as in any other media, the artist's mind is as important as the eye, in composing a work and in this picture, the layers of palm fronds, some suggesting fingers, (hence the title) is highly poetic.

Another photographer, Christine East, has an eye for little details in nature as in her 'Whirl'. This is a photographic triptych showing the interplay of green algae and sand, a scene we frequently see at the beach but often overlook.

'Green Bottle' by Libby Cook-Toppan is a photographic close-up of the top of an old, greenish-black bottle. The light that reflects around the details of the top, is what I found engaging. Her presentation is thoughtfully professional.

An artist new to me is Christina Douglas. She is showing four acrylic paintings of fruit and vegetables, all quite enlarged on canvas. I was struck especially by her 'Paprika', although her use of paint was on the thin side. With such a juicy subject, juicier paint could have helped make the painting even more effective.

The Christopher Grimes, Stella Shakerchi show in the Edinburgh Gallery is about Bermuda and as such it is realistic. Christopher Grimes continues his traditional approach of recreating old views of Bermuda. I noticed though, that his scenes are devoid of people. There is an unusual view of Fairylands, taken from a photograph of 1901. Stella Shakerchi's paintings are also scenes of Bermuda, however, her approach to painting is more painterly, that is she uses thicker, more buttery paint, than she usually does with her abstracts. I picked out a couple that I found especially appealing. One is a scene of a 'Tree at Spittal Pond'. Another is 'Morning Shadows'. Her 'Palm Grove' is reminiscent of Vuillard, the renowned French painter. The Alex Hammond exhibition is a pop art show that emphasises Japanese Manga and Anime. Manga being a type of Japanese comics, while Anime is the animated version of Manga. All his paintings are in shades of grey. His paintings are fairly large, thoroughly contemporary, well executed and a refreshing addition to the Bermuda art scene. I sure hope to see more, in the near future.

The April Branco drawing exhibition is also impressive. Most are charcoal drawings of human body details. Her rendition of hands is especially competent, a subject that is not all that easy to correctly handle. For someone so young at art and with such an impressive beginning, I see a bright future ahead. Her pastel, still-life depictions are also notable. I was drawn especially to her 'Study of Jars'. The almost pointillist approach to pastel is especially effective. I understand that she has been studying with master teacher, Sharon Wilson. Obviously she has learned much about the handling of pastel. I want to see more of this kind of work.

These exhibitions continue through April 4.