Turning self-examination into an art

Ten international and local artists join forces in a visual arts exhibition in Valletta aimed at raising questions of identity within social, historic and gender contexts

What do you see when you take a look at the mirror, or delve deep within your soul looking for your true identity? Do you get a clear picture of who you are or do you see a distorted image of who you think you are?

Ten international and local artists who have come face to face with their own selves have expressed the answer to these questions through media which in itself reflects their own identity.

Wċċ imb’Wċċ is a visual arts exhibition of self-representation that raises questions of identity within social, historical and gender contexts.

The 10 expressions, on display at St James Cavalier in Valletta, vary from a hyperrealist sculpture by the renowned Macedonian Zarko Baseski of a pensive two-foot figure, to a video performance about the self by Davor Ljubicic.

Another artist taking part in this exhibition, Jessica Harrison from Scotland, left an imprint of her identity on a series of hand-moulded mini furniture replicas.

Many would agree that identity develops along the years, through things we pick up along the way, and others we choose to exclude from our life.

And this is what John Paul Azzopardi did when he formed two figures sitting down on a bench, from objects he collected through his life journey.

Another Maltese artist, Vince Briffa, froze himself in time with a series of pictures taken over a two-month stretch which he later strung in a video.

This video is played in six television sets set up on top of each other, in an attempt to capture a sense of ageing through immortality.

Joseph Calleja has also used images to express his identity, but in his case, he formed a picture of his face through photos of his Facebook friends. Called Għidli ma’ min tagħmilha (tell me whom you hang out with) this large image hanging on a wall, can be distorted as the Facebook friends’ images are moved around, creating a pun on the actual image we have of our own identity.

Other artists taking part include Dominique de Beir (France), Åsa Riton (Sweden), Raphael Vella and Elisa von Brockdorff from Malta.

It also features works by Tracy Emin and Giuseppe Hyzler, and a series of self portraits by Year 2 schoolchildren.

Curated by artist Austin Camilleri, the exhibition is supported by the British Council and Heritage Malta. Entrance is free and the exhibition is open until Sunday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.