Project Category: Graphic Art

A commissioned work for a highly esteemed client.

The concept behind Wiċċ Imb Wiċċ emerged during reflective discussions with curator Melanie Erixon in 2020. We revisited an earlier project from my time at the University of Malta, where I explored constructing digital portraits through layered depictions of the same face. However, this iteration carried a new urgency, informed by the unprecedented disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic altered every facet of our lives, challenging how we connect, experience intimacy, and define our collective and personal identities. Against this backdrop, I initiated The (Facebook) Portrait Project II – Fading Social Distancing on December 27, 2020. It was a global experiment in collective portraiture, inviting individuals to share their digital likenesses and reflections on social distancing. The response was overwhelming—363 participants from diverse backgrounds contributed to the project, symbolically capturing humanity’s universal yearning for connection.

Each group of ten participants was represented through a unique digital portrait, created by re-appropriating their Facebook profile pictures. These portraits blurred the boundaries between personal and collective identities, sparking conversations on how isolation reshaped our social fabric. Participants used the platform to share their thoughts on social distancing, creating a mosaic of perspectives that reflected both the challenges and resilience of the human spirit.

The resulting thirty-seven portraits were reproduced on aluminium dibond and showcased at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq in Mqabba during my third solo exhibition in April 2021. This project invited viewers to question: Who are we when we come together? How do we make sense of connection in a world defined by distance?

Dr Alex Grech, an expert in social sciences and digital culture, provided valuable insights into the project’s deeper implications. He highlighted the duality of social media as a space for connection and performance, noting how it has both amplified and fragmented our identities. His reflections underscored the paradox of seeking validation within the collective while navigating the blurred boundaries of selfhood.

In 2024, Wiċċ Imb Wiċċ took on a new life when I was invited to participate in Natale ConNoi, an international exhibition in Naples. Hosted at the historic Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, the event was a fundraiser for CasaBalena, a residency for children. A selection of twelve works from the series were recontextualised to explore themes of peace, unity, and the human need for togetherness. This exhibition offered an opportunity to reflect on how art can transcend its origins and contribute to broader conversations about connection and solidarity in times of disruption.

While the original exhibition at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq has long concluded, the themes explored in Wiċċ Imb Wiċċ remain profoundly relevant. The project continues to evolve, inviting audiences to consider the ways we forge connection and collective identity in an ever-changing world.

For inquiries or bookings, please contact info@pawlumizzi.com.

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

This captivating portrait teeters on the edge of abstraction, featuring a young woman in profile with bold, contrasting hues that imbue the composition with depth and complexity. The use of alternating white brushstrokes and black splashes and daubs creates a dynamic interplay of light and shadow, drawing the viewer’s eye in a captivating search for revelation. This digital portrait is a work of art, designed to provoke contemplation and reflection in the viewer.

One of the most striking aspects of this artwork is the composition’s handling of the lady’s facial features. The face seems to melt into the brightest area, creating a sense of immersion in a radiant light. The delicate white strokes add a touch of sophistication to the piece, evoking silver linings or shining reflections. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the artist has sought to capture the psychology of a woman in the throes of transitioning from youth to adulthood. The shifting color palette, moving from the mournful reds to cooler blues and brighter, more hopeful whites, speaks to the complexities of emotional and spiritual growth.

The three limited edition prints of ‘Dak li int’ have found homes in three distinct art collections, two in Malta and one in Ireland, testifying to its universal appeal.

Disconnection with a loved counterpart entails a process of yearning and letting go followed by hope or grief. Lullaby is a work about a state of disconnection, a state of sleep/flux in which the burning fire of desire sleeps but slowly sheds light on unforeseen revelations. The work was greatly inspired by the song Lulluby by American indie rock band Low.

“Cross over and turn

Feel the spot don’t let it burn

We all want we all yearn

Be soft don’t be stern

Lullaby

Was not supposed to make you cry

I sang the words I meant

I sang”

The focal point of this artistic endeavor revolves around the embodiment of feminine grandeur as perceived through the lens of an ardent admirer. Its inception was sparked by an evocative remark stumbled upon on July 27, within the comment section of the “ifwekissed” Instagram profile:

“i got so lost in her details. The shape of her lips. The way her hair falls on her shoulders. The way the light brighten her eyes. The way her smile forms when she looks at me. Didn’t matter who was in the room – she was all I saw.” 

This profound statement starkly juxtaposes the common English idiom “elephant in the room,” which alludes to a weighty subject, question, or contentious matter that is palpable to all, yet meticulously avoided to evade discomfort or unease. Irrespective of any controversy or disquietude, an authentic lover will forever acknowledge and celebrate the resplendence of their beloved.

The creative process was further accompanied by the music Elephant Woman by Blonde Redhead which was discovered on July 27 and which accopanied the conceptual creation of this artwork.

The female figure contemplates her fragile existence by holding and meditating over the suspended life of a plant shoot. Nonetheless, the anemone flower adorning the figure’s head augurs a prosperous future.

This work is inspired by the thematic of Anemone (2016), as a follow up to the Kobba phase and a first move towards new artistic territories.

Action painting on a found photographic image.

Digital portrait of Louise Agius.

Introduction

Kobba is the Maltese word for a clew, a ball of yarn or cord, in our case a ball of red thread that seems infinite but whose beginning and end never come together. The thread flows above the lower layer like a wave that washes on the shore and then retreats to make space for the next, in a never ending cycle. The clew is sown with scorching red stories. One layer above the next, the clew is the experiences and relations that shape us. A continuous red line that starts and finishes in a state of order or confusion, and that, once tangled, becomes impossible to restore.

The Project

A series of digital illustrations through which questions about human relations are revived; questions within ourselves but also outside of our personal realm. Questions that refer to intimacy, romanticism, apathy, bodily greed and human values. This work questions what is it that makes us whole, what we look for within us, and within those who relate to us. The human figure is central to this project, acting as a container, but also as a trigger. The woman, a metaphor for life in all its elements, becomes a model on whose body the red thread flows, slides and tangles to explore these dimensions in human relations.

The red string, flowing orderly or jumbled, is an indicator of direction or confusion. An indicator of journeys that lead us to a discovery of the self and a discovery of those who are close to us. The latter might not be visible, might not exist, might not want to be there or are mere audiences, just like you are.

Just like the red string, these illustrations toured Malta and Gozo in a series of public meetings during which those present were invited to share and discuss their own reactions to the theme. The tour stopped at the following venues starting September 2018 up to March 2019:

• Private viewing 07/09/18: L’Enoteca – Rabat
• 14/19/18: Little Red Door – Valletta
• 28/09/18: Hosted by Mario – Xagħra, Gozo
• 19/10/18: Il-Baxa Café – Rabat
• 02/11/18: Gleneagles Bar – Mġarr, Gozo
• 14/11/18: Tat-Taraġ – Rabat, Malta
• 08/12/18: Hosted by Family Borg Micallef – Lija
• 15/03/19: Hosted by Antoine Farrugia – Mqabba

The Media

• Revealing the layers – Interview for Times of Malta by Adam Brimmer
• The invisible red thread – Feature for Times of Malta
• Pawlu Mizzi – You don’t have to be shy to assert that you’re an artist – Interview for maltachamber.org.mt by Martina Said, also published on The Commercial Courier/81 titled Exploring Connections