DR. STEPHANIE FABRI

Juggling Life

INTERVIEW WITH DR. STEPHANIE

FABRI ECONOMIST AND LECTURER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MALTA

Juggling parenthood as a working mom can be a challenge, especially when you are a leading economist, a lecturer and actively involved in various local fora. Yet Stephanie Fabri refuses to give in to such a challenge. She is what we can define as a modern day hero and a true example of how a strong will and determination can lead to a successful balance between a demanding career and family commitments. Stephanie is just like many other working mums and she is ready and willing to share with us her motivation, her challenges and how she takes time to nurture herself.

by Kris Micallef

What are your ambitions in life?

I believe that ambitions change according to the period one is in life. Currently, my focus is on my son, Pippo, and my ambitions have been re-aligned towards him and I do hope that through motherhood I will be able to be a role model and a pillar of strength to him whilst growing up. Motherhood has had a profound effect on me and on my outlook towards life and I am realizing that my ambitions have also changed. In addition to this, I want to cherish and love my family and friends, I’m very lucky to be surrounded with amazing people in my life. I have come to appreciate and love life more and I do hope that I can remain so. On a professional level, I want to be a force and instrument for good. I believe that work can be an important conduit for goodness and positivity and through my contributions in policy-making as an economist, I feel I am contributing to improve something for society at large.

Who is your role model?

My lifetime role models are my parents. They have always pushed me to be the better version of myself. They have constantly supported me, through thick and thin, and gave me strong values through their constant love, dedication, and integrity.

Besides my parents, I have many people who inspire me. I would say that if we learn to appreciate the beauty of the people around us, despite their flaws, we find role models everywhere - friends who are going through life challenges, yet they find the courage to move forward; people going through severe illnesses but fight to live their lives to the full; colleagues, workers and philanthropists who strive to succeed despite the challenges they face; businesspeople who endorse failures tap into new ventures.

What are the essential ingredients for a perfect marriage between motherhood and work?

I am a new mother so I’m surely no expert in this. I love my job, and used to work very long hours before my son was born. However, I promised myself that he will always be my top priority. It won’t be easy, and I know I will have to give up opportunities, in fact I already did. However, motherhood to me comes first. My job will revolve around the different stages of motherhood. There will be phases where I can work a lot, other phases where I cannot. However, I do not think there is any secret recipe of finding the right balance. It depends on the individual and the support system available to that individual.

What keeps you going when things get tough?

The simplest things that cannot be bought – love and friendship.

In a recent interview Tori Gerbig, CEO of Pink Lily noted, “Even as the mother of two young children, I’m not afraid to say that I love work.” Why should such a statement be a problem in today’s society?

Unfortunately, we are still being judged for not focusing 100% on motherhood. I have myself already faced a few comments. I think that we still need to mature as a society and understand that women who work do not love their children any less. We also need to start seeing more of a balanced approach and I believe that the future of work following COVID will also allow more flexibility towards work and the place of work.

Work and motherhood should not be mutually exclusive. I strongly believe that one’s skillset at work is enhanced when stepping into motherhood, on the other hand, through their jobs, mothers are able to inspire and become better mentors for their children. Motherhood also brings a renewed sense of sensibility even on the workplace or when solving work related issues.

Motherhood is an individual experience, there is no specific way or manner of how one should balance motherhood with work. It is time to stop being judgmental and instead of discussing issues like these, we focus our efforts on how we can help families balance work and parenthood.

What are your thoughts about local society? Are we progressing or regressing?

We have progressed in so many ways – mentalities are constantly evolving, civil liberties, enhanced environmental awareness, and the ongoing scientific, technological and digital advancements are clear examples.

Rather than regressed, I would say we are evolving very slowly in certain aspects like racism, gender biases, and other inequalities in rights and income that are evident on a global scale.

Do you feel we are missing the point on several key societal issues?

In the fast, challenging, and chaotic times that we are living in, at times I feel that we forget going back to our core, our values. But there are many people out there striving and working to see a better future for the future generation, and that should give us hope.

Why should what you define as ‘resilient mothers’ and ‘modernday warriors’ not fear the stigma or the unsaid reality of IVF?

I think we still live in a society where fear of failure and fear of showing that one is vulnerable are still strong. I feel that IVF remains a stigma. It remains a controversial subject, at times a political ball, when it should be a subject that brings us together to support the struggling couples and going through deep pain to conceive and build a family. When we discuss IVF, we forget the most important protagonists, the couples. We forget the most important aspects, those of love, motherhood and fatherhood. We forget the human aspect of this arduous process and this needs to be at the core of any debate.

What’s next for you?

I love challenges and working on new things. A new project that I am looking forward to and that is very close to my heart is a book on motherhood. The book is co-edited by Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, Prof. Vincent Cassar, and Ms. Kirsten Cutajar Miller. Other experts are giving their valuable time and input. In this book, we discuss the challenges and struggles that mothers out there face through a series of interviews. The aim is to understand what we can actually do to enhance the wellbeing of modern-day families. It is only by digging deep into real stories that we can understand our society, our people and ultimately enhance the way policy is designed and implemented.

Artthat Pierces

This autumn sees the opening of a new exhibition in Malta’s up and coming art scene. The art collective known as duopunctumstud.io, is a collaboration between artists Nadette Clare-Talbot and Caroline O’Callaghan, and launches their exciting debut collection of work, entitled Elective Affinity. On show exclusively from 14 October 2021 at the Lily Agius Gallery in Sliema. The exhibition will showcase twelve individual bodies of work centred around the subject of still life, captured in a photographic style more traditionally seen within classic portraiture.

Nadette and Caroline began collaborating in Malta in 2019 drawing inspiration from their different artistic backgrounds, ultimately culminating in the formation of their collective duopunctumstud.io earlier in 2021. Their launch collection Elective Affinity showcases the combination of diverse yet complementary talents and a powerful shared aesthetic. Each of the 12 works showcased in the exhibition began with a visual idea, which was typically developed into a three-dimensional botanical sculpture, followed by a live installation and finally, a photographic image capturing the theatrical magic of their unique artistic approach.

Punctum is a term used to refer to an incidental but personally poignant detail in a photograph which

‘pierces’ or ‘pricks’ a particular viewer” 27

Drawing on the duo’s interest in perception and illusion, each body of work pursues the concept of the juxtaposition of subjects. It is this jarring visual experience, quite literally a “punctum” for the viewer, that the duo seeks to explore, right from the inception of each individual idea, through to the creation of the installation, and the ultimate culmination of a powerful photographic image. Various other themes are also woven into each body of work, some repeated throughout the exhibition. For example, digital references feature in the work, both in terms of lighting techniques, with the use of diverse sources and reflections, as well as the clever placement of image projections. All visual effects are produced in the studio and without any post-production trickery giving each photographic piece the appearance of a highly veneered post-production aesthetic. All this is masterfully achieved, creating widely different narratives for the same visual story. The resulting images are unique and a testimony to the technical and artistic skills of this highly talented duo.

"It's always a satisfying thing to see two artists work so well together and produce a good body of work,” says Lily Agius, the curator of the exhibition. “Nadette and Caroline have been discussing their collaboration for some time, and despite COVID uncertainty, they used it productively to find a new dialogue between them

and create something fresh and bold - that of which is neither the style of one or the other but the two of them put together. Their unbridled ambition has resulted in a unique collection of artwork and a stunning show.”

Elective Affinity (the self-titled first work in the collection) draws on the idea of combining objects in a way that the viewer does not expect. In this piece, we see a miniature jewellery box lined in a carpet of winking anemones instead of jewels. It is this juxtaposition of the unexpected that the duo embarked on exploring and is evident throughout the exhibition.

Boxing Helena explores the exhibition’s subject of still life portraiture. Helena is a bust adorned in florals, conjuring the modern haute couture of Dior and Alexander McQueen. She is pictured within a sea of black – lonely, floating and untethered. The space around her and the emptiness of it is just as important for the balance of composition as the portrait of Helena herself. She is both human in essence but also a still life. The digital centre of Helena centres the work, creating a compositional focal point. This circles back to the play between traditional photographic techniques and the illusion of a digital overlay.

CandyLand is a moment in time, completely still yet teetering on the edge of collapse. The sculptural composition is based on the balance and flow of a classic Japanese Ikebana floral arrangement where blossoms, branches, leaves, and stems find new life and beauty in a strictly ordered composition. In the image, however, the composition is in total flux, flung forward and almost exploding out of the frame. The flow and balance within the arrangement are completely disrupted, creating a chaotic and yet somehow simultaneously calm image.

To follow the duo’s story and to learn more about the full exhibition pieces, including behind the scenes, and to view the final photographic images follow them on Instagram @duopunctumstudio.io

About Nadette and Caroline

Nadette has an extensive background in commercial photography with high-profile clients such as marie claire, Elle Decoration and Glamour. This followed her training with a degree in Photography and extensive experience in all photographic formats. Nadette later transitioned into fine art photography following a relocation from South Africa with a successful debut solo exhibition entitled “Lacey and Lace” in 2016 in Malta under the curatorship of Claude Camilleri. Caroline studied Fine Art and History of Art at Goldsmiths University. She went onto a career at Christie’s auction house in London. Her love of flowers was never far away, as she went on to train and work as a florist in 2002 in Greenwich, London. She has come full circle combining all aspects of her training.

The exhibition opens on the evening of the 14th of October at Lily Agius Gallery, 54 Cathedral Street, Sliema - COVID measures apply. For more information, private view, and the catalogue you can contact the gallery by email at info@lily agiusgallery.com or call +356 99292488. You can also view the websites www.lilyagiusgallery.com, www.artsy. net/partner/lily-agius-gallery, www.duopunctumstud.io.