Visualise the microscopic size of the semolina grain, at its finest. Now imagine having the task of using these miniscule grains to compose a full blown masterpiece, the likes of record-breaking proportions. That is just what Paul Muscat has done by completing the largest semolina image ever executed - a full 12 feet by 9.5 feet in size.
This artifact can be seen together with other works which aptly capture the full essence of Easter's religious celebrations, at the Duke of Connaught's Own Band Club in Birkirkara where a traditional Mejda ta' l-Appostli, a Good Friday display is providing a veritable feast for the eyes dedicated to the connoisseurs of the genre and art appreciators at heart.
Paul is self-taught, an artist who has over the past 25 years exhibited varied works connected with Good Friday pageantry. Fifteen years ago he began experimenting with salt and semolina art, the first artist to work with these media within Birkirkara. His connection with the band club's Good Friday display now stretches back four years when he stepped in to work on various aspects of it, just two years after its inception.
The largest semolina work, one of his largest to date, takes over an entire side of the exhibition hall, and is inspired from an 1874 painting by the Danish Carl Bloch and depicts the scene showing Christ clearing the temple.
The rest of the artifacts include works in semolina, salt, pasta and rice a total approximately of 60 plates and 32 frames. Images rendered vary, from religious symbols to images of saints, biblical figures and others. A large semolina work shows a very lifelike semblance of our new archbishop; another depicts the soon-to-be-canonised Dun Gorg Preca.
One of the most exquisite works on the table is a large frame of Jesus - a famous still derived from Jesus of Nazareth. The work is delineated with a perfect rendering of visual expression. It is the work of Mario Azzopardi, one of the team of artists who completed these works, chief among whom are Sandro Galan, Clive Camilleri, Fiona Vassallo, Natasha Attard, Martin Gauci and Paul Muscat's wife Terry.
Another impressive work is by Sandro Galan. Moving out of the main hallway into another part of the exhibition, leads visitors to appreciate a circular work executed in salt. A central close-up of the Redemptor is encircled in a vibrantly coloured mandala of stained glass design. The intricate detail is once again proof of the extreme attention and meticulous delicacy with which this art is rendered, and is especially appreciable knowing the high vulnerability of salt once it experiences humidity.
Paul explains: "We start working on the contents of the table as early as January and once we start, it's a daily obligation, consuming hours of work and full weekends."
The exhibition contains a series of Good Friday statuettes of diverse origins, and styles. The first set of 11 statuettes is made by Paul himself, using virgin clay which has not been baked in a kiln. The small size does nothing to deter the eye from the fine detail the artist has adopted in these works. Another two sets owned by the band club are displayed. One contains a set of eight statuettes of varied Stages of the Cross executed by the Gozitan sculptor Cutajar Zahra. Another set comprises a miniature Good Friday procession and is the work of Senglean Salvu Bonello. Also displayed is a detailed Golgotha scene containing 300 statuettes, by Joe Valletta.
The exhibition is incidentally serving as a debut for Birkirkara's newest full-size statue of the Redemptor, a work by the Gozitan sculptor Michael Camilleri Cauchi.
• Il-Mejda ta' l-Appostli exhibition is open weekdays Mondays to Fridays from 5.30 p.m. onwards, Saturdays, Sundays and Good Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and from 5.30 p.m. onwards.
This artifact can be seen together with other works which aptly capture the full essence of Easter's religious celebrations, at the Duke of Connaught's Own Band Club in Birkirkara where a traditional Mejda ta' l-Appostli, a Good Friday display is providing a veritable feast for the eyes dedicated to the connoisseurs of the genre and art appreciators at heart.
Paul is self-taught, an artist who has over the past 25 years exhibited varied works connected with Good Friday pageantry. Fifteen years ago he began experimenting with salt and semolina art, the first artist to work with these media within Birkirkara. His connection with the band club's Good Friday display now stretches back four years when he stepped in to work on various aspects of it, just two years after its inception.
The largest semolina work, one of his largest to date, takes over an entire side of the exhibition hall, and is inspired from an 1874 painting by the Danish Carl Bloch and depicts the scene showing Christ clearing the temple.
The rest of the artifacts include works in semolina, salt, pasta and rice a total approximately of 60 plates and 32 frames. Images rendered vary, from religious symbols to images of saints, biblical figures and others. A large semolina work shows a very lifelike semblance of our new archbishop; another depicts the soon-to-be-canonised Dun Gorg Preca.
One of the most exquisite works on the table is a large frame of Jesus - a famous still derived from Jesus of Nazareth. The work is delineated with a perfect rendering of visual expression. It is the work of Mario Azzopardi, one of the team of artists who completed these works, chief among whom are Sandro Galan, Clive Camilleri, Fiona Vassallo, Natasha Attard, Martin Gauci and Paul Muscat's wife Terry.
Another impressive work is by Sandro Galan. Moving out of the main hallway into another part of the exhibition, leads visitors to appreciate a circular work executed in salt. A central close-up of the Redemptor is encircled in a vibrantly coloured mandala of stained glass design. The intricate detail is once again proof of the extreme attention and meticulous delicacy with which this art is rendered, and is especially appreciable knowing the high vulnerability of salt once it experiences humidity.
Paul explains: "We start working on the contents of the table as early as January and once we start, it's a daily obligation, consuming hours of work and full weekends."
The exhibition contains a series of Good Friday statuettes of diverse origins, and styles. The first set of 11 statuettes is made by Paul himself, using virgin clay which has not been baked in a kiln. The small size does nothing to deter the eye from the fine detail the artist has adopted in these works. Another two sets owned by the band club are displayed. One contains a set of eight statuettes of varied Stages of the Cross executed by the Gozitan sculptor Cutajar Zahra. Another set comprises a miniature Good Friday procession and is the work of Senglean Salvu Bonello. Also displayed is a detailed Golgotha scene containing 300 statuettes, by Joe Valletta.
The exhibition is incidentally serving as a debut for Birkirkara's newest full-size statue of the Redemptor, a work by the Gozitan sculptor Michael Camilleri Cauchi.
• Il-Mejda ta' l-Appostli exhibition is open weekdays Mondays to Fridays from 5.30 p.m. onwards, Saturdays, Sundays and Good Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and from 5.30 p.m. onwards.