Divergent Thinkers 2

Four of my latest works were featured in Divergent Thinkers 2 exhibition, which opened on October 19th 2013 at St James Cavalier, Valletta.

Fusing childhood memories, pop imagery and typical suburban environment, I have come up with works that portray the suburban youth.  There is an enfasis on the behavior of such youth, as they portray themselves underdog from the movies, the oppressed but the cool ones.

"Kings in Town"

"Hippies gone Wrongs"

"Suburban Love"

"Perfect Prefect"

Escorts go on Show

Having published my series of car crashes just online last December, these prints are currently on show at Guy Lee's Tattoo Studio in Mellieha, next to Luna Holiday Complex.  A series of 8 prints with editions of 10 each, the show will be open until September.

It was great working with the other participants, and most of us took the challenge of transforming the space provided into a professional exhibition area.  It is the ethos of the place, that the space is to be shared by artists who wish to exhibit their work in an event that is free from the connotations often found within a conventional art gallery. Artists are free to change their work, or give their space up for other interested artists to use at anytime.

The artists exhibiting are: Aaron Bezzina, Christian Micallef, Hello Jon, Krista Sullivan, Ryan Falzon, Sarah Borg and Sean Camilleri. Works exhibited ranges from from sculpture to prints to typography.

Thanks go to Guy Lee for providing such a space in which to exhibit and for giving so much energy and time for all of this to succeed, Sarah Mamo for helping me set up, all of the other artists and Nicky Scicluna for the photos.

The opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm.

First week of July: Titlaq/Tasal

On 6th July, we did our first evening event at our studio, entitled Titlaq/Tasal.  Dealing with the theme of journeys, we created an interdisciplinary project between young artists and authors along with established ones.  While setting up the event, we kept in mind our concept that we are to share our space with as many others as possible.

We asked Glen Calleja to co-ordinate the whole session. Having helped Glen with "Ir-Ragel" in July 2012, and "DIXX" in April 2013 and taking part in Tahziz, a creative writing program which Glen is coordinating (and in which I am partcipating), I was sure that Glen would help us to deliver our concept and ideas in the best manner possible.

From the beginning, it was made sure that it was not going to be the usual reading, where audience sits on a hard wooden chair, listen to readings and flock off to get their cheese and wine. On Glen's suggestion, we decided that the writing submitted by young author was to be read by established ones, to give the readings another dimension and allow room for collaboration between authors.

 The final set up consisted of three tables which the participants sat around in an informal and random manner.  Particular readers were assigned to a table, and they read out writings in a very personal manner.  The process, with different writings, was repeated a second time.  So the extracts that the audience heard were all based on chance; everyone heard the readings that were assigned to a particular table.

The space inside the windmill which we usually work in was transformed into an exhibition space, with artists exhibiting artworks that again dealt with the idea of a journey.  Works shown ranged from drawings by Sabrina Calleja Jackson, lino prints by Ryan Falzon, works in mixed media by Sarah Maria Scicluna and Fabio D' Amato, and an installation entitled "Thabbira" by Andrea Zerafa.

Along with the artists, kind thanks go to the authors who submitted their writings, which are the following: Marie Gion, Ryan Falzon, Simon Sultana Harkins, Leanne Ellul, Martha Vassallo and Nigel Baldacchino, who also performed a song off his upcoming album.Thanks also go to Albert Gatt, Simone Inguanez, Caldon Mercieca, Rita Saliba for reading, and to Glen Calleja.  The place was kindly given to us for free by Zurrieq Local Council.

All photographs used above were taken by Mauro D'Amato from Ready.Set.Go.

And finally, here's my installation of lino prints entitled "Tivjagga biex Titrejjaq".  My idea was all about journeys that I don't do anyone since I have outgrown the need for them. Photo taken by Sabrina Calleja Jackson.

Taking off!

As said in my previous post, I managed to come to an agreement with Zurrieq Local Council to use the Xarolla Windmill, and we decided to start off immediately.  Last week, we started off with some painting on site, and loads of plans and discussions on how to use the space.
On Sunday, a group of cub scouts visited, and they had the opportunity to take photos and explore our works in their own way.  The rustic environment is ideal for exhibitions, and we also have plans to organize one day courses in printing and expressionist painting.

Me, Sarah and Sabrina are also thinking of organizing other art related events in different locations, and we already got one event confirmed.

At the space, I shall be alternating a selection of my works which, the first being 6 works from the "Kindly Adjust Your Gender" series exhibited during Milkshake exhibition.  A selection of lino prints would also be on display.



Since I am mostly working on commisions at the moment, time at the new space is serving to catch up on my own work, which hopefully would be exhibited later on this year.  I have submitted a portrait of Charles Bukowski for a collective, opening next Thursday in Valletta, and I also started to build up work for an exhibition in July at Guy Lee's Tattoo Studio in Mellieha.  I shall be exhibiting existing lino prints depicting car crashes, along with new works.

The Xarolla Project

For those who have been following my blog, it has always been my intention to set up an open studio, where anyone interested can visit, enjoy a chat, some bouncing of ideas, a coffee...basically it would be a place built around a community of artist who are fed up of working in isolation, and lacks a meeting place.

I have discussed this idea over and over again with artists, musicians and anyone who might be interested. Enthusiasm for the idea was shown, but most highlighted the difficulties we might encounter. I know people who have tried setting up a shared studio in Malta, others who have been working constantly as a loose group of artists..

While lazying around after dinner, I came across a copy of a newsletter that the local council publishes, and in which was an article that urged anyone who has ideas related to arts and culture to contact the council.  I decided that I shall give it a go, and set up a meeting in which I explained my intentions.

A week after, news arrived. The idea was approved, and a wonderful location to work in was suggested: the Xarolla Windmill, a fully functioning windmill dating from 1724.

Since another idea of mine is that isolation suffocates creativity, from the beginning I included artists Sarah Mamo and Sabrina Calleja Jackson to share this spare with me. The three of us have already been discussing the idea before, and shall develop our ideas over summer.

The project is to take off on Saturday 27th April (another reason to believe that 27, along with 13, is my lucky number.) We are to be working there on Saturday and Sunday mornings, from 9-12 am. Our works will be on display, and one can visit the building and surroundings, which includes a public garden in which one can see remains of Roman catacombs. Anyone interested in visiting can drop me a line,  so that I make sure I'll be there, even after a wild night out on Friday!

Milkshake Opening

Some photos from Milkshake opening, thanks to Kamy Aquilina.  The exhibition is now over, photos of the work shall be uploaded on my website soon.  For now, you can see some of spaces I've been using to work in for the last two years on my  Facebook page.

Milkshake: A Summary

Next Friday, that would be the 8th of March, a collective exhibition going by the name of Milkshake is to open at the Upper Gallaries in St. James Cavalier, Valletta.  For all of those who have been following my blog, it was quite obvious that I've been putting my heart in the project, working long hours and considering a couple of concepts.

The two main concepts were both based around a series of paintings, one being about mermaids and seahorses, while the other revolved around view points and mind states from within the queer community.

Why mermaids and seahorses?

Since in the beginning I was strongly considering focusing on gender bending as the only theme behind my project.  The seahorse and mermaid were to be used for their peculiar physical properties and habits.  With the seahorse, it is the male that carries the eggs and gives birth, while with a mermaid, it does not have a definite sex from the waist down.

The idea was to create a scenario where the seahorse and mermaid interact, an environment where androgyny and gender bending are the norm.

In order to fuel this concept, I wanted to personally meet a young MTF, but unfortunately I did not find such individual and the project was put on hold...though I still got loads of sketches that I plan to explore in the near future, sketches which I plan to blow up on canvas.  By blow up I mean 3 metres by 2 metres.

Mind states

The idea of depicting mind states was a fusion of two research tools: interviews and Tumblr.  With the interviews, I had selected four people between the age of 19 to 23 and discussed with them issues such as the relation with their body, the definition of queer and what it's like to be queer in Malta.

I only managed to do only one decent write-up about an interview, which can be read here.

Although I do not have an active Tumblr account, it was always intriguing to me how young people are using that platform to communicate mostly through image sharing.  This heavy dependence on images to express any kind of feeling directed the graphic style that I adapted in the final works for Milkshake.

The Process

The core work was done between May-July, starting from the creation of frames, canvas stretching and priming.

The process was quite slow, for various reasons, such as travelling, other projects and general apathy.  A major issue with the works was the fact that I had to keep shifting spaces in which to work, meaning that I could not set up once and blast my way through the work.

However, I ended up finishing way before scheduled, which allowed me to discuss the finished works with artists and friends alike, adjusting where necessary.

One of my works was used in a local newspaper article which introduced the project to the general public.

Setting up

So far I have met curator Lisa Gwen, and since my installation can be set up in various formats, we played around with ideas and formats in order to find what works best with the space and other's works.



Project

For more general information about the project, visit; http://milkshaketheproject.wordpress.com/

Facebook Page/Website

For updates and pictures of my works, kindly subscribe to my Facebook page.


eHopefully my website would be up and running early next week.

Of Spirals and Cut Ups

Sometimes, I really hate the fact that I have many projects going on simultaneously: it would be much easier to start and finish projects one by one.  I have always worked in blasts, then having a break from a theme and revisit it later. As said before, I am getting into Jeanette Winterson lately, and in her introduction for "Oranges are not the Fruit" she writes the following:

 "I don't really see the point of reading in straight lines.  We don't think like that and we don't live like that.  Our mental processes are closer to a maze than a motorway, every turning yields another turning, not symmetrical, not obvious."

Winterson describes this novel as a spiral novel, where the action is happening in circles rather than in the linear form we are accustomed with in writing.

I can really connect with such thinking, and also reminds me of the Cut-Up technique which I have been applying in my work for years now.  Having came across William Burroughs and his techniques through Kurt Cobain when I was a teen, I have always been fascinated by the uncontrolled element of cut up, where images are removed from their original dimension and combined, altered and placed in a new one to create something that can exists on it's own.

Artworks involving cut up are the most realistic of all works, because they reflect the way we think.  We don't remember everything from a day, we remember what was most relevant for us, what we would need to know in order to have a better future...all these tiny elements are organized by our mind to create  tailor-made reality.  That is what I try to convey in my larger works, where I use a variety of sources which interests me and links them together, creating a new mindscape on canvas.

It is more than fulfilling showing my work to different people and all of them come with a valid interpretation of my work.  I rarely explain my sources to the viewer, since I want the viewer to link the various references in a work by himself, building a personal relation with my works.  Some, or most people are lazy or lack creativity, and may feel confused and lost in front of my works..they expect to play the viewer's stereotypical part and just view and critizise.  I believe that's all passe, just like works and installations that try to involve the viewer through physical means.  In these days of virtual reality where the use of the image is playing a major part in young people's life (getting to know someone through his/her photos on FB, expressing your personality thru reblogging etc), the interpretations and reaction towards the image are the way forward.