Project Category: Art

“thirty three” offers a captivating collection of works to challenge the canons of the classical mediums and stimulate viewers’ senses through a striking aesthetic.

By utilizing reappropriation and digital manipulation techniques, I deconstruct, alter, trace and reassemble existing images into dynamic compositions that challenge the audience’s perception of reality and the traditional expectations of visual art. The works being presented explore deeply contrasting emotions like lust, sorrow, depression, desire, rejection, and sociality, reflecting both my personal evolution and the broader human experience.

While the female nude and self-portraiture feature prominently as a favourite subject, they serve as a means of expressing what’s within and beyond me, rather than an end in themselves.

I delve into the psychological, political, and spiritual aspects of human existence through layered fields of colours and textures, stripped-down abstractions, and bursts of action drawing, encouraging viewers to ponder their own lives and the world around them.

The exhibition is open from March 3, 2023 till April 1, 2023. Opening hours of the gallery are:

• Monday to Friday from 08:30 till 14:30 and Saturdays from 09:00 till 12:00.
• Wednesday, March 8, the exhibition will also be open between 17:30 and 19:30.

Visit the Facebook event page here

The Media

• Interview for Maltarti
• Digital art and alternative perspectives of consciousness – Interview for Times of Malta by Joseph Agius
• Illum ma’ Steph – Live interview by popular presenter Stephanie Spiteri

Creating this portait of Jesmond Mifsud wasn’t an easy feat. I didn’t know the man much and only spoke to him in few instances. The last time we met was in St Lucia Street, right opposite the family shop. He called me “zi” and when I asked why he explained it was because my uncle Noel who was his friend, used to call him so.

Jesmond left this world on January 16, 2020. His faith and love for Jesus was no secret as he used to preach Jesus whenever possible even through the most painful days. An exemplary and positive member of the Valletta community, Jesmond is missed till this very day.

This portrait depicts Jesmond as an elegant soul through a dark background adorned in gold and copper textures. The focus of the composition is the radiance on the subject’s face. The work is now showcased in the family shop turned wine bar by Jesmond’s elder son. May it warm the heart of his family and help the remembrance of this gentleman and all his goodness.

The world of art has always been captivated by portraiture, a genre that continually evolves with the changing times. In January 2021, Maltese artist Pawlu Mizzi created a digital portrait of Paul of Tarsus, which captures the essence of this significant figure within the Christian traditions. Mizzi’s synonymous artistic techniques involve digital collage, layering, and manipulation, and give a contemporary twist to portraiture by presenting the viewer with the chance to read further into the works.

This artwork is not merely a simple portrait but an intricate iconography that tells a tale of St. Paul’s legacy within the Maltese community. Mizzi’s digital artistry blends elements of traditional portraiture with contemporary techniques, creating a compelling piece of work that captures the spirit of the subject.

The Valletta landscape, with its typical Maltese wooden balconies and imposing fortifications, serves as a layered background and texture to the overall composition. A sharp edge that runs close to the face represents the sword, synonymous with St Paul’s iconography, which represents both his martyrdom and his message of spiritual warfare and the power of the Word of God. As the viewer’s gaze moves upward, the artwork reveals a panoramic view of the Pauline Parish in Valletta, with the dome of St. Paul’s Shipwreck Church dominating the skyline. Mizzi skillfully incorporates decorative elements of the titular statue by Melchiorre Cafà, residing within the same Parish Church, including details from the drapery patterns and the metal halo.

This digital artwork presents St. Paul as a beloved mascot of the Valletta Pauline community’s cultural identity, representing its history, values, and traditions. The penetrating look of ‘Pavlus’ – the word depicted in between layers – suggests a direct encounter with the viewer who is faced with questions about their true faith. The image portrayed is not the conventional representation of a saint, but rather a portrayal of a virtuous individual with a moral compass, who guides others to make decisions and take actions that promote a culture of empathy. Overall, this digital artwork is a testament to the enduring legacy of St. Paul and the timeless relevance of his teachings.

Mizzi’s artwork serves as a question about the true relevance of faith and spirituality in the modern world, and it challenges viewers to reflect on their beliefs and values. It is a striking representation of how traditional subjects and themes can be reimagined using modern artistic techniques, underscoring the vital role of art in creating cultural and spiritual identity.

This artwork was featured as a book cover for ‘L-Għaqda tal-Pawlini – L-ewwel ħamsin sena’, published in 2022 by Għaqda tal-Pawlini A.D. 1970 of Valletta.

The composition and the colours focus on an introspection of the character, defining the spiritual reality of human essence. This was achieved through the feedback of the client who accompanied the creative process with his observant insight of the subject. It is indeed a pleasure that results were loved by the client and the subject herself.

Following the exhibition Wiċċ Imb Wiċċ held in April 2021, a dear friend came around requesting a family portrait that would imitate the style. The portrait features the husband, wife, daughter, grandmother, grandfather and dog. It reflects upon, story-tells and uncovers the terminology of family by giving an ephemeral form to all the intergenerational and interracial facets that make up that which we call family.

I never supported Caruana Galizia’s journalism, particularly because some of her statements were offensive to people like me who practice a left-leaning political philosphy. Many others felt the same way. While I chose to boycott her blog, some people responded with vicious attacks and even demonization.

When the events of October 16th unfolded, some were not surprised while others were shocked. I remember being at work at the Valletta 2018 Foundation when the news broke. Most of my colleagues were horrified, but some were almost relieved.

Last Tuesday one of the greatest artists the world had the pleasure to host passed to the next phase of the existence he contemplated through every breath on this earth. Following my impromptu writing to salute the life of this immortal genius, here is a visual tribute to Franco Battiato’s inspiring soul. It is a unique edition print. Bursting warm colours represent Battiato’s thirst for the Truth. He transpired passion and creativity though his art and acted as a public testimonial for the Truth in this alienated society. Thank you maestro. May we all listen.

A commissioned work for a highly esteemed client.

In my perennial quest towards an artistic expression that serves my soul I have come to terms with my need not to accommodate; institutions, social norms or my own self. The affection towards anything that is absurd and away from the obvious is now a constant obsession in my research.

In my 2020 discussions with curator Melanie Erixon about possible fresh works, we thought it would be great to revisit a past research and posing it into the contemporary disrupting climate of the pandemic. The restrictions imposed on the social and the individual realities have indeed disrupted all of us. The pandemic is a protagonist game-changer that has manipulated how we behave; how we eat, how we relate, how we have sex, how we breathe, how we experience our innate human senses. Starring in such an unprecedented crisis we are being asked to shut down our relations; to stop being human. We all started doubting our own existence and our identity; private and collective.

In the past week I exchanged reflections about this project with my friend and social sciences expert Dr Alex Grech who reminded me how most of us are nowadays locked into Social Media platforms. “We are dependent on their affordances to navigate our sociality and mediate our identities. In our love affair with Silicon Valley, we have gone from the early innocence of private horizontal exchanges with those we know in the offline world to the spectacle of online performance: we watch, lurk, comment, troll, cancel, share and wait for others to acknowledge our existence. We are all in this together – including those who watch over us and harvest our data for their private means. In the process, we explore, destroy and renew our personas, from completely anonymous  to the mundanely familiar.”

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The (Facebook) Portrait Project II – Fading Social Distancing Facebook group was a call launched on Sunday, 27 December 2020, inviting people from across the globe to participate in a social exercise of collective portraiture in which the popular urge to come together is metaphorically illustrated. In this virtual coming together the private is represented as public and vice versa. 363 people from across the globe decided to take up the call by the end of year deadline through direct or indirect invite. A collective ‘portrait’ was created for every ten consecutive group members through the re-appropriation of one of their own profile pictures on Facebook. Participants were later invited to use the group platform and share thoughts and reactions about social distancing and the urge for human touch – highlighting the common climate that is currently ruling us. All portraits, 37 to be precise, were printed on aluminium dibond and set up into my third solo exhibition that will hopefully be launched at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq in Mqabba on April 17.

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Alex was intrigued with participants agreeing to share and redefine their own identity with the artist and others: “The pandemic has forced us to remove the final vestige of humanity in the offline world and into social distancing. We are slowly being deprived of our seven basic senses, for our own good. We are masked and yet connected, peering into our screens, trying make sense of what we are, and what we may yet become. Our lives are disrupted, but social media will yet be our salvation and keep us safe from ourselves and unknown others. Won’t it?”

Whilst a dash of narcissism ensues, through which most will try to identify their existence within the collective, the exercise is a deeper research of the self away from the idealised view of who we all think we are. Identities get blurred or lost within the disturbing collective combination. Each artwork relates the questions “Who are you?, Who are we? What’s happening to us?. The big challenge is to make sense out of it all and knowing what is the ultimate beneficiary of all this effort.

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The exhibition WIĊĊ IMB WIĊĊ will be open at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq between April 27 and May 18 and can be visited strictly by appointment. You can make a booking or purchase an artwork by sending an email to info@artsweven.com or contact Art Sweven, Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq or the artist on info@pawlumizzi.com. All artworks are limited edition of three and selling at €125.

WIĊĊ IMB WIĊĊ is being curated by Melanie Erixon from Artsweven.

External Links

25 April 2021 – The intimacy among strangers – Joseph Agius, Times of Malta

22 April 2021 – Interview for Illum ma’ Steph

16 April 2021 – Interview for Meander

7 April 2021 – Interview for Maltarti

30 December 2020 – A social exercise of portrait creation, The Times of Malta

Live Exhibition walk through by ARTZ ID