"Reincarnation of waste and new work in metal" is the subtitle of an intriguing exhibition at ArtBox Gallery in Qala, which was inaugurated by the Austrian Ambassador.
Anything from scrap metal over a glass factory's waste to plastic bottles and discarded electrical wires, serve the two artists, English-born Jackie Roberts and Hermine A. Sammut from Austria, as readily available and pliable materials to create pieces of art that are nothing short of amazing. The temple of Hagar Qim was rebuilt using pieces of plywood. Bits of glass, polished by the sea and salvaged at the beach, are the gems in intricate silver jewellery. Plastic water bottles have been transformed beyond recognition into elaborate artwork.
Where did the idea originate to create art from waste? "Well, I've always liked to recycle," laughs Sammut, who generally loves to experiment with different media in her creations of art and jewellery, often mixed with ceramics and acrylic paint.
As for Roberts, who learnt artistic metalwork at Edinburgh's Telford College and has created a wealth of stunning pieces of art using steel, copper and brass, the overwhelming amount of waste discarded in the Gozitan countryside is a constant source of inspiration.
She cannot look at a rusty cooker or defunct washing machine without thinking of how she could incorporate them into her work.
One particularly captivating piece is Jackie's "On Fire". The inspiration for it came from a news photograph in The Times that illustrated a report of the forest fires in Greece on September 1.
Roberts said:, "I must try and re-create it somehow in metal. I had a piece of rusty sheet metal in my workshop and collected charred pallet wood from a Gozo field fire, gnarled herb roots, some old nails and found a bit of discarded copper." The resulting three-dimensional picture bears a stunning resemblance to the press photograph, but Jackie has given it a dramatic quality of its own.
The artists, who have been living in Gozo for a good number of years, strongly believe that children should be encouraged to visit galleries and be led to the appreciation of art at a young age. However, the outcome of their initiative to interest school teachers in the subject and invite them to visit with their classes has been disappointing.
For a future exhibition Sammut and Roberts are toying with the idea of having a more child-friendly gallery environment that could, for instance, incorporate art specifically directed at kids and displayed at a suitably lower level.
The artists hope that through donations and exhibition sales they will raise money for trees to be planted in Gozo under the 34U campaign. It can be viewed until today between 9 a.m. and noon at the ArtBox Gallery (above Zeppi's Bar), St Joseph Square, Qala.