Life still catalogue

mAndraKe creations

an exhibition

of paintings , drawings & sculpture by

with a selec tion of work s by

Life StiLL

The Vaults, Auberge de Castille, Valletta, Malta 5-14 DECEMBER 2014

LUMENUS BY AMANDA (2014), RENDERED AND ADAPTED FROM A DRAWING BY DRAKE

them things…

No matter what neo-Platonists wanted everyone to believe, there was no David “in” that slab of marble. Indeed there was a slab of marble and an artist found it useful to carve it into the shape of a naked bloke whom he called David. That’s all!

To my apparent irreverence here I want to add something else: that beyond any perceived pretention at being “smart about art” we should all cry out with frustration that actually the art that we make is never expected to make any particular sense beyond what we make of it … though this is no excuse for lazy comments, crass ignorant scorn, or peeved sulkiness.

So while I cannot really say what Kevin and Amanda are really up to, just as I would never know what any artist is supposed to be doing with the stuff they call art, I can say that in experiencing their work, I want to get the world by its horns, its balls, by them things, and shake it senseless.

In Kevin and Amanda’s art I get a sense of rested energy. Though there is nothing gentle about their subjects, in experiencing their art I am gently pushed into saying something with confidence and a sense of freedom. So I am grateful by what this privileges me to do: speak my mind and open myself to what my late friend, the educator and philosopher Maxine Greene, used to call “the power of imagination.”

Though Maxine was very clear on what she meant by the imagination and aesthetic experience, she never really pushed for any canonical meaning for art, even when she knew that she could conjure anything in a matter of seconds.

JOHN BALDACCHINO CHAIR OF ARTS EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE, SCOTLAND WWW.JOHNBALDACCHINO.COM

What was more important for Maxine was that people engaged with the possibilities that emerge from works of art.

So right until she left us early this year when she quietly passed away in one of her spells of pneumonia (she was well in her 90s), this great lady continued to urge us all that “the time may have come again for the painting of murals!”

I am glad to say that it is this very spirit that my friends Kevin and Amanda are conveying to me through their art. And for this I am truly grateful.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014

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LIFE STILL– an exhibition The exhibition LIFE STILL promises to be a First in a number of ways. It is to be the first time that the wonderfully evocative and intricately labyrinthine vaults of the Auberge de Castille will have hosted such an art exhibition – and hopefully not the last; the first exhibition for both Drake and his partner & companion Amanda; as well as Drake’s first ever public foray in this particular sphere of the visual arts in nigh on 50 years. (Kevin J) Drake is better known to the Maltese public for over 30 years as a broadcaster, journalist, actor and director, one-time musician, writer and sometime satirist, columnist, political activist and Communications specialist, amongst others, with little or no direct connection to the world of paints and painters, canvas and colours, pen, ink, clay, chisels, wood and stone.

And yet here we are, at what promises to be an interesting if not eclectic and diverse exposition of works – almost 140 pieces in all – in what is undoubtedly one of the most stunningly unique and fitting venues for such initiatives.

The works that are on display for the duration of the exhibition incorporate a good number of paintings, drawings and sculpture created over the past two years.

However both artists are also exhibiting a number of pieces ranging back over a period of three decades and more.

Having no formal training to speak of, Drake was nonetheless initiated at a very early age into the fantastical, other-wordly dimension of all that is ‘Art’, by his uncle, mentor and hugely influential, larger-than-life artist & ‘guru’, Antoine Camilleri. There on in followed a lifelong fascination with everything and anything connected in some way with the processes of creativity, the explorations of the mind, the eternal obsession with that which we call the Human Condition.

Detailed ink drawings appeared to be Drake’s favoured and almost exclusive style for many a year, though in more recent times Colour & Colours have evidently been re-discovered with a vengeance.

For the past seven years Drake has been battling with a progressive-degenerative, neuro-immune disease – M.E. – a condition which has obliged him to severely curtail most involvements and responsibilities, including professional commitments, the theatre, TV, writing and so on and so forth.

Silver linings Do come along with even the blackest and most stubborn of clouds, though, and in this particular case it was the opportunity and possibility to explore painting, drawing, sculpting and all aspects of creativity with much more freedom and in more depth than ever before. The end results, thus far, can be witnessed and judged accordingly by whoever visits LIFE STILL.

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PUPPETS ON STRINGS BY AMANDA (2010)

Amanda, on the other hand, was formally trained for a number of years in the U.K., then in Malta, and is by her partner and co-exhibitor’s own definition and description: “…the Real Artist in this partnership. I’m a big fan, in the most genuine way possible, and have been since before I even first said ‘Hello!’ ”.

Having lived in Malta for most of her adult life, Amanda has created a name for herself locally and abroad not only as a talented painter and portrait artist, but also as an imaginative and creative designer, as well as having her own lines of exclusive and unique puppets, (Threadbear puppets) & bespoke soft furnishings (Kush N’Cover). Painting, drawing and sculpture, though, remain Amanda’s principal passions,with the LIFE STILL

exhibition being the ideal showcase for displaying her many and diverse artistic attributes and talents for the first time.

LIFE STILL is the first initiative being put together by mAndraKe creations, co-founded, as the name implies, by Amanda and Drake. The exhibition is being supported by a grant from the Malta Arts Fund, amongst others.

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DISGRUNTLED DRIVER IN DOWNPOUR HALF-BLINDED BY HEADLIGHTS BY DRAKE (2013)

AND THE CROWD GOES CRAZY! BY DRAKE (2014)

FUMBLING FORWARDS SELF PORTRAIT

BY DRAKE (2013)

BUGANVILLA BY DRAKE (2013) 7

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TARTAN FOR THESE TIMES BY DRAKE (2013)

SEABED STORM BY DRAKE (2014)

AUTUMN’S PARK BY DRAKE (2013) 9

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ANOTHER KIND OF MUSIC BY DRAKE (2013)

PIGEON VISION BY DRAKE (2013)

PRAISE! BY DRAKE (2014)

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE BY DRAKE (2014)

A RUSH OF BLOOD BY DRAKE (2013)

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UNCLE ANTOINE BY DRAKE (2013)

MANDALA AMANDLA BY DRAKE (2014)

IN SUFFERING WE ARE ONE BY DRAKE (2013)

ALIVE, ANEW BY DRAKE (2013)

DESERT ROSE BY DRAKE (2012) 13

STAINED AS WITH ALL GLASS BY DRAKE (2014) 14

THE MYSTIC’S GARDEN BY DRAKE (2014)

MOODY COW BY AMANDA (2011)

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LONGING BY AMANDA (2009)

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SUNRISE SWANS BY DRAKE (2013)

A FIELD DAY IN NEUROPATHOLOGY BY DRAKE (2012)

TRINITÀ BY DRAKE (2014)

CHOIRS OF ANGELS BY DRAKE (2013)

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WHAT THE…?!? BY DRAKE (2014)

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AND THEY’RE OFF! BY DRAKE (2014)

BALLS OF SPRING BY DRAKE (2014)

JOSTLING FOR POSITION BY DRAKE (2014)

COMPAGNI (L-AĦWA) BY DRAKE (2014) 19

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QALB TA’ QALBI BY DRAKE (2014)

RAPTURE BY DRAKE (2014)

SCENE OF THE CRIME BY DRAKE (2013)

TIED UP NO MORE BY DRAKE (2014)

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BLEEDING SEAMS BY DRAKE (2014)

LIFE WITHIN LIFE BY DRAKE (2012)

THE CHORUS LINES BY DRAKE (2014)

HOWL! BY DRAKE (2013) 23

LADY SINGS THE BLUES BY DRAKE (2013)

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BLOW BLUES BY DRAKE (2013)

THE TREE KNOWS EVERYTHING BY AMANDA (2009)

LIFE BETWEEN THE LINES BY DRAKE (2013)

CONTORSO BY AMANDA (2008)

BIRGU BY DRAKE (2012)

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NETWORKING BY DRAKE (2013)

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JESTERLY BY DRAKE (2013)

DECAY’S BEAUTY BY DRAKE (2012) URBANA#1 BY DRAKE (2013)

PALETTA BY DRAKE (2013)

IL-BAJJA BY DRAKE (2012)

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K+ BY AMANDA (2014)

SELF PORTRAIT ICON BY DRAKE(2013/4)

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KLAUS BY AMANDA (2014)

MASK #1 BY DRAKE(2012)

HORNY DEVIL #1 BY DRAKE(2014)

HORNY DEVIL #2 BY DRAKE(2014)

METROPOLIS BY DRAKE (2013/4)

SEASONAL ONSLAUGHT BY DRAKE(2012)

ALJOTTATAL-IMGĦARRQIN BY DRAKE(2013) 29

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IS-SAJDA BY DRAKE(1988)

CLUBBIN’ BY DRAKE(2002)

TANTRUM TIME BY DRAKE(1988)

WASAL IL-BAĦĦ BY DRAKE(2013)

ĦAĠAR QIM BY AMANDA(2008)

THE BAKING BY DRAKE(2014)

CAT SCAN KISS BY DRAKE(2014) 31

FACE IT BY AMANDA(2013/4)

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RYTHYM AND SOUND BY AMANDA(2008)

RESONANCE BY AMANDA(2009)

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SPANISH GUITAR BY AMANDA(2007)

CRUCIFIED BY AMANDA (2009)

TROPHY WIFE BY AMANDA (2008)

ARUM LILY BY AMANDA (2007)

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THE EYE OF OSIRIS BY AMANDA (2008) 36

THIS EXHIBITION HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

MANIFEST-BY-DESIGN.COM BESTPRINT LTD

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ALL IS ONE IS ALL BY DRAKE (2013)