An international group exhibition and public programme aims to affirm the radical nature of art and acknowledge its ability to provoke, make change, subvert truths, expose lies, exact justice and reimagine worlds.

In recent years, both locally and globally, there has been ongoing debate on issues of whistleblowing, leaking and the subsequent counter-accusations of ‘fake news’. The whole world seems to be stuck in a loop of whistleblowing v fake production, leading to a general feeling of not knowing what or who to believe.

Staring Quietly at the Backwash, by Ina Lounguine

Taking the Orwellian misnomer as a starting point, the Blitz building in Valletta has become a ‘Ministry of Truth’ for the Truth | Lies exhibition and public programme.

Truth | Lies, curated by Alexandra Pace, presents a collection of works, performances and film screenings that span notions of truth and falsehoods, from the personal to the political to the technological. The artists use their respective mediums to investigate personal histories and expose political truths, while subverting the boundaries between fact and fiction to present works and experiences that act as a malleable mirror on to our own selves.

The selected artists and works in this exhibition came through an open call in Blitz’s social media and website. Works range from the political to the personal, and span multiple disciplines. Together they deal with specific political agendas, such as Brexit and migration, as well as questioning the relationship between remembering, seeing, knowing and believing.

From the ‘handshake’ at the door to the inner depths of the building where the audience is confronted by a life-size projection of a leading warlord in the Niger Delta, the audience’s experience will weave between the personal and universal.

The exhibition will run until May 17 at Blitz, Valletta. Opening hours are Tuesday until Saturday from 10am to 3pm. Entrance is free. A night of short films, selected by Nuzquam Productions, will also take place tomorrow at 7.30pm. For more information, visit http://thisisblitz.com .

List of artists

Armenoui Kasparian Saraidari, Sara Rees, Giuseppe Torre, Erica Giusta, Guillaume Dreyfuss, Jacques Borg Barthet, Manali Jagtap-Nyheim, Tom Bull, Philip Cartelli, Mariangela Ciccarello, Arnold Aganze, Ina Lounguine, Will Henry Carter, Neale Willis