CHARLIE CAUCHI is a visual artist, filmmaker and researcher living in Malta. Her work encompasses video, sound, text, archive and built environments. Her practice is a hybrid, amalgamating documentary practices, academic research, and fantastical construction. www.charliecauchi.com
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O-MA’s heady figurative creations graced the walls of the Lily Aguis Gallery, transforming the space into something almost otherworldly. The exhibition, which was inaugurated on 11th December 2021, is a definite statement of confidence by Agius, who championed CO-MA to debut his first collection of drawings. The artist draws inspiration from different periods in art history, with much of the work flirting with religious symbolism and Christian iconography. The show featured 12 drawings, with the artist principally working in charcoal. All the bodies inhabiting his paintings are female. Alluring and beautiful, yet somehow damned. The most salient element of CO-MA’s drawings is his subject’s lips. This tactile organ stands out, suspended in time: pouting, sensual, promising. The artist knowingly plays with the elusive and manifold meanings a partially open mouth can convey – is this ecstasy, pain, fear, worship? The rest of the face is less visible, veiled behind misty textural clouds, wisps of smoke or obscured by other elements. His subjects are practically impenetrable, though some peer out at us, careful not to reveal too much. As a result, the
Lily Aguis and the artist. Photo by Justine Ellul - www.justineellul.com
presence of the female form is often undermined. Or perhaps the audience is the one that is cheated – unable to gaze at the beautiful figures placed before them. Props of harsh-looking textures accompany his subjects. In some instances, sinister winged creatures suspended in flight attempt to hog the limelight.
mean feat, especially considering his chosen medium. Each drawing is painstakingly-detailed and textured. The artist employs various techniques to achieve this realism, working on each picture for over 100 hours. But the final result seems effortless. The work oscillates between dense and baroque and fragile and secretive.
For all its darkness, the drawings display the artist’s lustrous style. Light bounces across the work, and his ability to bring luminosity to the canvas is no
With a gallery that is open and unobstructed by architectural features, CO-MA’s work could take possession of the room. The space also allowed
for a memorable closing event to take place, with an improvised collaborative show by pianist Yun Cai and performers Florinda Camilleri and Valentine Soucy bringing CO-MA’s exhibition to a close. Together they created a brooding and unique interdisciplinary work in dialogue with CO-MA’s imagery. Through movement and sound, the performance truly embodied the feeling of the work. For more information and purchase enquiries contact Lily Agius Gallery: (+356) 9929 2488.
Photos by Ines Bahr Photography
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