Richard England’s fascination with architecture has never wavered and never ceases to inspire him. Charlene Vella takes a look at his recent collection.

It has become a yearly event for Richard England to exhibit his drawings in October/November in Gozo… the third in a row to be precise. The works included in the collection were executed in mixed media, ink and oil pastels – all of them represented Gozo’s landscapes, or more accurately, townscapes.

The collection, as England has called it, ‘Ogygia, Isle of Calypso’, is very much a continuation from previous series of architectural drawings. The 20 views were executed with a monochrome palette, each remarkably produced with minute detail.

This architect and artist’s fascination with architecture has never wavered and never ceases to inspire him. Whether defensive fortifications, majestic churches or humble buildings, the built environment takes centre stage. Whatever they may be, these completely stone-oriented buildings – a type of construction that has dominated our islands since time immemorial – are the main protagonist. Although buildings are evidently man-made, man does not feature in any of these works.

Fontana

As already indicated, Gozo’s man-made environment takes centre stage, but they are not your typical views. In fact, some of the more popular sites among artists and tourists are not as obviously recognisable because England wants to discover alternate viewpoints and always bring something new to the table.

The Cittadella can be taken as an example which featured in this collection on more than one occasion. In one work, the Cittadella is portrayed from a bird’s-eye view executed in ink and wash. The fortification and its buildings were accurately reproduced: England has laboriously, yet freshly, rendered each bastion wall, building, arch and passageway.

England is continually reinventing himself

While this is quite factual, another view of the Cittadella was approached rather differently. In this case, the subject was portrayed from an unusual angle. This shows that the artist was seeking a different perspective and settled for an almost worm’s-eye view that contrasts greatly with the previous one. England is continually reinventing himself and did so not only by changing his point of view, but also by creating an imaginative scene of a much-loved spot. Although recognisable, the Citadel’s features are treated individually and obliquely and were haphazardly rendered. This makes the scene that much more interesting.

A similar interpretation inhabits the several scenes portraying the village of Fontana where the execution is freer. Once again, England’s imagination took over and actual buildings, although discernible, morph into each other. In this way, he managed to capture the towering nature of the small village’s buildings with the spring featuring prominently on the bottom right. The church does not fail to tower over the townscape.

Dwejra

With these last two works England opted to not portray any middle tones; just the white paper and black to distinguish between light and shade rendering the works bold in execution and in intention. Contrasting to these is the portrayal of the village of Żebbuġ. The village is dramatically illustrated with a bold full moon above the skyline in which dark blue ink features prominently. Other than the moon it is the church’s dome and one of its bell towers that inevitably dominates the scene. There is then a beautiful division created between the skyline and the foreground and middle ground details in which the stone emerges from the dark cloud that mystically envelops the scene below.

That England looks at landscapes from unconventional views is confirmed by his depiction of Dwejra which does not feature the Azure Window. Rather, his focus is on the hefty rock formations to the right and the buildings that are dwarfed by the surrounding natural environment.

Although based on factual townscapes, the fantastical nature of England’s imaginative cities from the Mythopoli series is amply felt.

Works on show were accompanied by England’s own poems.

The exhibition was held at Art..e Gallery in Victoria.