A Digital Art Exhibition
Joeaby vassallo
To Rossana With thanks to Pawlu Mizzi, Rhona Scerri, Prof. Lino Bianco and Rossana Delia who have assisted on a personal level in the production of this exhibition and publication. Designed by Joeaby Vassallo GĦELIEM: A digital art exhibition is designed, produced, and published electronically by Joeaby Vassallo. This publication is available FREE of charge in PDF format but is not available in printed book form. © 2016 Joeaby Vassallo, Malta All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in books, brochures, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, audio or visual recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. ISBN: 978-99957-0-922-8 joeabyvassallo@gmail.com
A Digital Art Exhibition
Joeaby vassallo
At the very bottom of the ladder, Aspiring to great things with a strong longing And enough will to keep it going. I don’t believe in anything bourgeois but Only in being true to oneself. I believe everyone’s mantra should be Less is More; Money is only a means to manifest one’s self.
Joeaby Vassallo
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The Artist Born in Si치치iewi in 1989, Joeaby Vassallo completed his secondary education at St Edwards College, Birgu. After undertaking his Sixth Form at G.F. Abela Junior College, he enrolled to read for an undergraduate course in architecture and engineering at the Faculty for the Built Environment, then known as the Faculty for Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Malta. He graduated with B.E.&A.(Hons) in 2012 majoring in urban design. In 2015, he was granted the warrant of a perit, a profession which he practices. Besides engaged with the architecture studio Lino Bianco & Associates, he runs his own design bureau which offers professional creative services relating to brand identity, corporate design and art direction. This is the first solo exhibition where the theme includes urban-inspired digital illustrations.
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A word from the curator Pawlu Mizzi Marki/Sinjali … jew aħjar Għeliem. Fil-qalba ta’ din ilkollezzjoni ta’ xogħlijiet grafiċi nsibu appuntu dan. Sa mill-bidu ta’ żminijietu, il-bniedem fittex li jimmarka jew iħażżeż sinjali u marki sabiex jimmarka territorji jew jesprimi ħsibijiet tiegħu. Jekk nitilqu mill-għerien f ’Lascaux u niġru saċ-Ċentru Kulturali, Dar il-Pawlini fi Triq l-Arċisqof, insibu dik l-ambizzjoni komuni. Ix-xewqa tal-artist li jesprimi l-kwotidjanità tiegħu; dak li hu intimu u personali, iżda wkoll dak li hu iktar prattiku. Filwaqt li ċ-ċriev, barrin u żwiemel f ’Lascaux kienu s-suġġett qrib għallartist Paleolitiku, naraw kif il-forom ġeografiċi ta’ Malta, huma l-ossessjoni artistika ta’ Vassallo. Matul il-preparazzjoni ta’ din l-esibizzjoni, spiss użajt ilkliem logħba u esperiment mal-artist. Fix-xogħol grafiku tiegħu, Vassallo jittanta l-għajn ta’ min jara xogħlu. Mumenti tara kwadri suwed, oħrajn tara linji stabbli u f ’oħrajn linji jiżfnu. Qabel ma tiffamiljarizza mad-disinji, diffiċli tifhem. L-istess bħal-logħoba tal-ħajja;mhux kollox huwa immedjat, mhux kollox ċar, u trid iżżmien biex tifhem. Inħoss ukoll li din il-kollezzjoni hija wkoll esperiment. Esperiment mekkaniku/grafiku fejn bl-użu tal-linja, dritta jew mgħawġa, l-artist jesperimenta fuq lingwaġġ ta’ forom. Ħafna drabi Vassallo jirnexxilu joħloq forom permezz ta’ nuqqas ta’ linji. Huwa appuntu n-nuqqas ta’ intervent li joħloq suġġett. Innegattiv li jsir protagonist. U hawn fejn il-‘qarrej’ tax-xogħlijiet irid ikollu għajn tajba biex tifhem dan. Nemmen li filwaqt li dan huwa biss bidu għall-futur kreattiv mill-aktar interessanti għall-arkitett Vassallo, dan huwa eżempju ċar ta’ kif il-kwalitajiet akkademiċi u artistiċi jistgħu jiltaqgħu u jwelldu lingwaġġi ġodda li jisfidaw liż-żewġ dinjiet.
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Marks/Signs … or better so Għeliem. At the heart of this collection of graphic works we find precisely that. Ever since the dawn of mankind, man has always sought to come up with symbols and marks in order to mark territories and express himself. Moving from the caves of Lascaux, heading towards the Cultural Centre, Dar il-Pawlini in Valletta, we find a common ambition. The artist’s wish to express ordinariness; what is intimate and personal, but also that which is practical. Whereas the deer, bulls and horses in Lascaux were the subject closest to the Paleolithic artist, it’s the Maltese geographical forms that obsess Vassallo’s artistic soul. During the course of preparations for this exhibition, I often used the words ‘game’ and ‘experiment’ with the artist. In his graphical work, Vassallo stimulates the eye of the viewer. Moments you see black frames, but at times these turn into lines which are stable whilst in others, they dance. Before you familiarise yourself with the designs, it is difficult to get hold of them. Same as in the game of life, nothing is immediate, none is clear, and only time can assist. This collection is a mechanical/graphical experiment where the artist uses lines, straight or otherwise, to create a language of forms. In a number of instances Vassallo manages to create forms in the absence of lines. Here, the lack of intervention defines a theme. The negative becomes the protagonist. It is here where the ‘reader’ must have a good eye to come to terms with the conceptual thinking and execution. I believe that while this is only the beginning of an interesting creative future for architect Vassallo, this is a clear example how academic and artistic qualities can fuse and give life to a language that challenges both worlds.
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Transformations through perception lino bianco Stating that this is an exhibition of a graphic artist is a superficial, significantly removed, judgement of the work being shared, with us, the viewers. All pieces are part of a greater whole, the exhibition, a journey through the artist’s metaphysical thought process via time. Each piece bears a title; each includes a graphic and a philosophical-poetical thought, an integral part of any given piece. Why ‘Għeliem’? Ġabra states that ‘għeliem’ is the plural of the word ‘għelm’, meaning a sign, a label, an emblem.1 Thus, the word ‘għeliem’ is the Maltese word for signs, labels, emblems. The signs for Vassallo are the landmarks in the Maltese environs, one of the five key elements that make up one’s perception of the city in terms of Lynch’s theory of urban design.2 They are a point-reference to his memories and emotions. The artist’s personal childhood passion for the Maltese landscape and his quasi-obsession with sunsets, are reflected in each and every piece. One can identify the different skylines of the Islands. However, this is done with a twist. The pieces presented are produced by contemporary technological means. Photo manipulation and vector drawings were employed; digital printing is the end finish. Everything is conventional; yet everything is contemporary. The artist is using a medium to realize his artistic creation and perception. This medium is the language through which he is communicating with the viewer; the resulting image is the message that the artist wants to communicate to the viewer. A difference in the moiré effect between the print and the digital rendering of the work is present. The moiré effect, discarded until a few decades ago as bad print finish, is hereby used as a
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technique, paying homage to the roots of digital printing. Thus, zooming in or out of the soft image is neutralized through the digital print at the stated dimenions. All images reproduced in the catalogue follow the order in which they had been conceived and graphically produced.3 Going through them in the order that they are presented by the artist is part of experiencing the unfolding of his message. Rather than a derivation of eternal recurrence, one reads a dynamic spiral which gradually leads one to read the artist through his graphics. All the twelve pieces fall broadly in two classifications, townscapes and other geological related, landscapes. These landmarks are churches and the sea, an eternal
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geophysical feature. They all have the touch of the artist’s profession, an architect majoring in urbanism. Most of the former are cities/towns in the Maltese islands easily recognizable from the silhouette of the built environs, diagnostically identified by the parish churches. These ecclesiastical fortresses are emblems of the various parochial territories, the precursor of the present local council boundaries. Each is a landmark of the specific identity of a given settlement. Applying Mumford’s urban theory, such a landmark is the aesthetic symbol of collective unity which a city/town requires.4 The settlements included in the exhibition, which are identifiable by the existing churches which dominate the skyline, are the following: Mdina (‘A childhood fascination’), Gozo Citadel (‘A distant emotion’), Mellieħa (‘A new beginning’), Laferla Cross (‘An ominous virtue’), Mġarr Harbour from the ferry (‘Every time’), Valletta from Sliema (‘Modern vintage’), Xewkija (‘Heavenly aura’) and Siġġiewi (‘Soon a memory’). The remaining exhibits are the Blue Lagoon, GĦajn Tuffieħa Bay, Mellieħa and Filfla, the subject of ‘A lost paradise’, ‘Youthful magic’, ‘New horizon’, and ‘A distant friend’ respectively. These last four pieces all relate to the sea, the element which defines the Maltese archipelago. 1. http://mlrs.research.um.edu.mt/resources/gabra/ lexemes?s=g%C4%A7eliem. Ġabra is an open lexicon for Maltese hosted at the Maltese Language Resource Server, a project coordinated by the Institute of Linguistics and the Department of Intelligent Computer Systems at the University of Malta. 2. Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Boston: The MIT Press. 3. Vassallo, J., Personal communication. 4. Mumford, L., (1937). ‘What is a City?’. In Architectural Record, 82: 92-96.
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Catalogue
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A CHILDHOOD FASCINATION Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
A symbol of identity. A shadow of the past. Though a mystery, it remains obvious.
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A LOST PARADISE Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
So beautiful yet so foul! What ought to be idyllic is now pagan.
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A DISTANT EMOTION Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Every time is like the first time. How can anything be so beautiful?
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A NEW BEGINNING Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Under its watch, Rest is to be found. Under its shadow, The light will shine.
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AN OMINOUS VIRTUE Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Always present, Always mysterious. So familiar, Yet a stranger.
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YOUTHFUL MAGIC Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Its veracity is its fantasy. Its memories are its legacy.
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Every time Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Every time it’s a sign. Every time it begins.
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MODERN VINTAGE Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Its past is its youth. Its yesterday is its tomorrow. Its today is our souls.
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HEAVENLY AURA Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Its trying grandeur shall rise, Into the darkness of the sun.
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NEW HORIZON Digital Print - 30 x 40cm 2015
Coincidence or irony? What once was night will become day.
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A DISTANT FRIEND Digital Print - 25 x 35cm 2015
Silent, Distant, Yet stable and gentle.
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SOON A MEMORY Digital Print - 25 x 35cm 2015
What once was dark Will now become light Which cannot be seen.
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Joeaby vassallo joeabyvassallo@gmail.com