LEVEL 4: FINE ARTS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
ICA FESTIVAL SPONSORS
ICA FESTIVAL DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
“It all starts here”. To many of us, students and lecturers alike, the opening of the Festival marks the ending of a long and laborious process. However, the title chosen this year challenges us to embark on a totally different mind shift. This is the beginning. This is the beginning for students who are concluding their studies at our Institute, planning an exciting future that lies ahead of them. This is the beginning for prospective students, who discover their ‘vocation’ during the Festival. And this is also a beginning for the Institute, each Festival being a way to evaluate the journey done so far in our contribution to the world of art, which determines the planning for the subsequent years. After last year’s success, the Institute decided to adopt once again the two-tiered system for the Festival. The first facet is the Exhibition, covering works of art from the ten departments that constitute our Institute. The second aspect is the active dimension where each department will have an evening whereby they can enter in dialogue with Industry and the public at large, about the current and future scenario of their respective departments.
These activities are definitely going to prove to be the major highlights of the Exhibition. The first night will be dedicated to the Performing Arts (30 June). Saturday 1 July will be Fine Art Night, and the day after will be dedicated to Creative Media and Photography. Monday 3 July will focus on 3D and Interiors whereas the closing day will be dedicated to the Graphic Design, Game Art and Interactive Media departments. All this has been possible thanks to the relentless energy of the staff and students who have once again succeeded in making this wonderful experience become a reality. I am sure that this same enthusiasm and zeal will be passed onto you as you become part of the reality of this year’s Festival!
Mr Tyrone Grima B.A., P.G.C.E., Pg. Dip. Dramatherapy (Roehampton), Pg. Cert. Spirituality, M.A.
CARMEN AQUILINA All the work exhibited is a result of a two-year journey unravelling within this community of practice in a very dynamic continuous learning space. These participating artists, young, yet very bold in their attitude towards this project based work, managed to take up multiple routes with the possibility of further growth and self-discovery. These very same routes for some started from a place they call home but led to an unclear and sometimes unknown destination. Through this journey, for some the unknown became known and the ambiguous became comprehensible. As a common ground, all exhibits are
visual realities triggered by the varied life experiences. For some it was love, fragility, home and beauty, while for others it was simply the bliss of creating art. What the viewer should expect is not excellence or self-pride. On the contrary, merit is found in their humility where each artist humbly poured some of their own experiences into what is now acknowledged as the exhibited work. Yet and still only just a snippet of a much longer journey of discovery.
IDENTITY Amanda Bartolo Amanda Bartolo’s artwork is developed in a series of eight artworks being exhibited as a one concept. Her collection is a series of diversity that expresses Identity in general, based on gender and sexuality. She makes use of sign language in her artwork because hands are the identification of who we are. Her artworks are in missed media as a symbol of imperfection. The vibrant strings converging around the artworks is the representation of diversity because we are all different and unique. Identity strings us together no matter who you are we are all eventually connected.
Diversity is complex because we are all so different, but in the end we find a way to get along with each other.
EXPERIENCES Brenda Simiana Brenda Simiana has been studying in MCAST institute for the creative arts for the past four years and in this year’s festival, a project titled Experiences is a personal project based on four different sections which are Judgement, Betrayal, Cure and Birth. The student wanted to highlight and show how important it is to record one’s own process of life to fully understand ourselves and either move on or learn from it. Experiences is a series which are done in photomontage technique mostly inspired by Annegret Soltau’s photo stitching, in every image light is emerging within the images symbolising how experiences can leave a mark on us.
PHOTOGRAPHY
INNER CHILD Claire Potter The concept of Claire Potter’s sculpture came from the theme of fragility within the inner child. As we grow, the inner child is like a flower, it blooms and grows, but is always subject to the harsh conditions of life. Our inner child is filled with wonder and creativity, but is also vulnerable to the darker aspects of life. The inner child wilts away as we become jaded with the world, weary and tired from trying to find a way to cope with life. Our time here becomes less about living, and more about surviving. Grownups always put their best face forward, a facade of being in control, a fake fearlessness that covers up the fact that we still have remnants of who we used to be, including the child that
needs protection. We can deny this part of who we are, or we can recognize it and embrace it. Our biggest source of strength can come from the most vulnerable, authentic parts of who we are.
METAL WIRE, DRIED FLOWERS
LOST IN A LABYRINTH OF TIME Ella Bonnici Peresso Lost in a Labyrinth of Time represents the stresses, fears and limits of time that are felt or experienced by every individual on a daily basis. Whether it’s worrying about being punctual to work, class or to get back home to your dog who has waited for you all day, time has the ultimate power and control over society. A positive perspective is what gives some of us sanity. Time; It gives us routine and order where humans create these ‘’safe havens’’ to avoid the unknown. If it had to be looked at from another point of view, animals, insects, the movement of the waves crashing against rocks etc...have no care of the concept of time. They solely exist.
The difference is that us humans choose to live in oblivion. How long can this distortion of reality continue for? Does rationalizing make us go crazy? Sooner or later the great unknown panics us, makes us feel lost and out of place. The artwork Ella Bonnici is exhibiting here shows these stages of the natural human experience through collages of distorted portraits and slightly burnt pages. This work makes the viewer question if these faces are from the past, present or future and how they are forever trapped by time.
SWEET REGRETS Eman Scorfna For the last couple of months, Eman Scorfna has been working on his project reaching a more comfortable level of understanding and explaining. This is because his work of art is an expression of feelings throughout his ‘darker days’. Whatever was unclear throughout his life was a task which proved very difficult to collect and an even more difficult task to share. With a vast collection of photos in which he is present and regrets, he was able to recollect why these past days, weeks, months were nothing but one long lasting nightmare. Complimenting these photos is a piece of lyric which he carefully studied and placed
for the audience to relate dots and help them understand what they are looking at. At the heart of this work of art Eman places himself as a fetus hugging the one very thing which was dearest to him. By emerging victorious of this battle he replaces growth with shame, he is urging everyone else who is so lost in his own way, so comfortably numb thinking it’s the only way out, to re-consider their beliefs and ideals by sharing his thought on these walls.
AN EXPRESSION OF SENSES Hayley Agius The art of observation and a way to see others is the medium that lets the photographer capture the memory we live every day. Hayle Agius’s work represents the beauty of body features we see every day. Hayley created a piece of work using collage printed on wood with different features of the human body to show different viewpoints of emotion, beauty and movement.. The inspiration came from John Caplons, a photographer who at the age of 60 he decided to show beauty in a different way where no skinny people or beautiful faces are not seen.
He made a series of self-portraits; naked in different postures. Our body/features are plain canvases where we just have to accept ourselves to fill the emptiness, sadness and failures which in turn is also our true and naked beauty.
SHIPWRECK Ian Camilleri Ian Camilleri’s uses pencil and ink as a medium on tonal paper, 300mm by 840mm in size and mounted onto a floating frame. His artwork is a drawing of a shipwreck with an iceberg. The message behind the iceberg is ‘Not everything we see is at it seems’. In fact, at a second glance things might look different for example someone can seem to be very happy in life but in reality he has loads of hidden issues and troubles. Ian uses this massage to show the viewer that in life you cannot take everything for granted and also to always appreciate what you have. INK ON PAPER
HAND Jacob Gauci Seen and used every day but no appreciated for this importance and impacts they have on us. Hands, in Jacob Gauci’s works are a reflection of hard work, like a trail of the past. Jacob here wanted to used hands as a metaphor for struggles throughout our life.
REFLECTION Jade Zammit This started from the theme ‘Home’ and from there Jade Zammit worked her way to ‘Reflection’. She chose to draw a portrait because the emotions on the face speak for its self, there’s no need for words. As an art preference Jade prefers to draw in a realistic manner. She works with graphite pencils since she feels very comfortable using them and has been since she was way younger. To challenge herself she added a touch of colour in this case its ‘Gold’ which is one of her favourite colours. For her home is a reflection of who you are.
UNTITLED James Ciantar James Ciantar has been interested in prehistory and antiquity for a long time now and I’ve he has learnt a lot from primitive skills on youtube. What is fascinating is that back then, there was nothing like youtube to teach them how to do things but it was life itself which taught them how to make everything from what we believe was nothing. From the smallest fibre on their shirts, to their entire house. The sculpture shows how we see our ancestors today, we don’t see the whole picture, it’s distorted. We can’t see the full picture due to the eroding quality of time, some pots that we missed that told us about their daily life, some DNA that told us about their ancestry isn’t noticed,
things get lost and the gaps gets bigger. But that is okay, sometimes we don’t need the whole picture to feel connected to them, because we are them. In our busy lives we don’t really stop and just think about how everything around us first started from simple flint knives and sticks. Through his work, James wants to give homage to them.
JAPANESE LEGEND Jamie Azzoppardi Jamie Azzopardi used watercolour as his medium to show the flow of the body of the cars. He particularly used vintage Japanese cars to send out a message. He wants to show how these cars made history throughout the world and as evolved vehicles. By using simple colours Jamie shows the great details in the bodywork of the cars and by making the background not as detailed he made the cars the main focus. Main inspiration for his work came from a Japanese artist called Yayoi Kusama who inspired the use colour in his final pieces. Yayoi uses dots to create paintings and installations which inspired Jamie to try out different techniques which lead him to his finals.
SERENE GOZITAN LANDSCAPE Lara Farrugia Lara Farrugia was inspired by a photograph taken by Dr Joseph Caruana, a lecturer at the Faculty of Science in University of Malta. As a Gozitan, she wants to demonstrate the beauty and tranquillity of the Gozitan landscape as seen during sunset. This scene includes the church of Għasri, a small village in the western part of Gozo with surrounding houses and ta’ Giordan Lighthouse located on a hill above the village of Għasri. In the foreground, one can see more houses located on the outskirts of Victoria. The landscape shows an expanse of greenery with some areas still lit by the sun in contrast with areas in the shade. The artist tried to produce a balance
between the warm colours produced by the sunset and the cool colours which are found in the shades to project a pleasant sense of ease and harmony.
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
III MINDS Lennon Pulis Lennon Pulis is a young artist and student who is always intrigued by other artists who loved to think. Most surreal artists in fact intrigue him and interest him. Salvador Dali was the main inspiration for his constantly developing ideas, also being a major part of this piece. As a person Lennon would always think and question life, question the mind and how it works, how memories have the most powerful impact on us. A man once said
Memories make us who we are, and dreams make us who we will become. Thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and his studies on dreams and how the brain works make a major part in this pen drawing. Above all as an artist he wants to show how memories can shape a person differently and how it could change and vary from one’s perspective to another.
FRECKLE... Lyanne Sawyer Lyanne Sawyer’s work is an installation of multiple photos. She took the opportunity to visit different places so as to have a variety of locations to choose from. Later on there was a selection of the appropriate model for her work and from then onwards Lyanne decided she could exploit the beauty found in both model and place to create her own work of art. This project was an opportunity where Lyanne could grow artistically as it was all about focusing on the smaller details, understanding that what has to be done in photography is the same process she would have gone through while coming up with a good painting or drawing.
Choosing the best photos was difficult as it was not about what looks good, but what works for her, as she was careful to leave space for the necessary paint modifications after she was done with printing and framing. Her series of photos are all about aesthetics, beauty and technique, followed by actual paint modifications as a form of manipulation. By combining photography, digital manipulation using Photoshop and 2D additions using paint Lyanne hoped to create something “sweet” and simple to go along with the collection of feelings around the room in this upcoming exhibition.
DEPTH Matthew Thomas Micallef Matthew Thomas Micallef uses a wood burning technique known as pyrography where he uses a standard soldering-iron to burn small dots next to each other on this 60cmX60cm piece of Austrian Pine and a second piece of wood which is 20cmX20cm which is stuck to the main wood block. The effect the artist was going for was to use the perspective of his wood block and merge it with the perspective of the art piece thus when doing this the final piece can only be viewed at eye level and straight in front of the art work.
The imagery of the drawing itself developed on and is relatable with Matthew as the feeling of him plummeting from large heights occurs many times in his dreams and when waking up he is left with just this sense of height which he decided to develop into the exhibited work.
FLORAL GAZE Selene Sue Frendo Selene Sue Frendo chose this style of portrait photography simply because she adores flowers. Women like to be spoiled with flowers because they reflect who we are. They show the femininity, innocence and the beauty of a woman. Flowers are a perfect way to flatter a lady. They can stop time for a moment by simply looking at them, admiring them and smelling their fragrance. The woman in the portrait is surrounded by beautiful flowers. Wouldn’t you want to be the reason behind this moment of bliss?
The presence of flowers sparks the memory of the moment you received them, the words and the loveliness of that moment. It is a way to grab a woman’s attention and make her think of you whenever she sees them. A woman just doesn’t care from where you got them and how much they cost, she simply knows that she deserves them.
PHOTOGRAPHY, ILLUSTRATOR
SURREAL PORTRAIT (KITSUNE) Sherese Frendo Sherese Frendo’s artwork is about storytelling. She is narrating a story from Chinese mythology where they paint the fox in a negative light. The fox is the most infamous spirit since most fox spirits appear as evil yet this beautiful young woman in their tales and legends. In this drawing the student is interpreting this tale using a surreal form of art with sharp black lines highlighting the beauty of the creature. She is also making use of watercolor to show the transition from a fox to a human.
One of the tales goes like this;
Here she is a shapeshifter who is transforming into this stunning creature who tempts weak men who are not able to resist her attractiveness and consumes their strength to live. Â
THE UNCERTAIN BLACK Stefan Solomon Niculescu It all started when Stefan Solomon Niculescu randomly found an intact cat skull on a field last summer. As bizarre and unusual as it sounds, this discovery has influenced Stefan into dedicating a lot of time on drawing with a black pen so he started by drawing cat skulls and later on improve his line and dot work. Steafan would be a liar if he told you his present artworks are deep or meaningful because he doesn’t try to fit in that artistic circle who wants to express their emotions or social, political and religious views like everyone else for the past few thousands of years. History repeats itself and people run out of ideas so they become abject,
alternative or simply odd to create controversy or interest to the viewer. So, he simply drew what his mind told him to and at the end of the day he actually realized that his work started creating its own insight , yet it was always up for interpretation. So in this case, besides the single stylized ‘The Uncertain Black’, the other composition simply represents the street lifestyle and its sub branches that make this specific world go around. This composition is the result of many weeks of development, research and Experimentation with geometric lines and everything that has to do with a black pen.
SHADOWS AND LIGHT Tiffany Harvey Tiffany Harvey has been studying fine arts for six years and in 2017 she began her journey into photography. For this particular exhibition, she chose the theme shadows and light. For her, shadows symbolise a darker side of a person, whilst light symbolises a more pure and innocent side of a person. Like what Hades turns into, when he wears his helm of darkness. Like most living things are afraid of the dark and hope for that peek of light.
The series concludes in four final photographs. The photographs are gentle yet dark. Shadows can change the way of a photograph. Like how a lace shadow makes a person’s face look much more complex. She wanted to give off the sense that even adults can fear the dark and hope of a shred of light.
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