Those silent, beckoning, beautiful faces

I would like to coin this artist as the woman who paints women. Now this might bring to mind a string of nudes, parading in varied stances of contrapposto to show off all the angles and angulations, curves and meanderings of their human form, in erotic temptations. But C. S. Lawrence doesn't do nudes. Her women are mostly fully dressed, in fact, some are literally overdressed by today's standards. As I observe two of her most eloquent beauties, a Winter and a Spring, my mind travels back to the days of antique prints, Stile Liberty, which many of our grandmothers sported in their front room.

These paintings are glorified females with flowing gowns, flowers in their hair and impeccably beautiful faces. Perhaps the one thing which really hits home are those - the perfect faces. That is what hits home: the extreme beauty, perfection in bone structure, glorious faces that could never be any more of a bijou. They stare softly back at the viewer, but their eyes speak volumes even in the silence that enwraps them. One cannot consider them static; the eyes bore into you. But they do not speak of innocence, nor of naivety. These are not Madonna-type faces that radiate holiness and virginity. These faces are as a canvas of life's passage - likened to the lines on an old woman's face, they tell a story of knowing.

The best proof of this transpires through her newest experiments - collages, one of which is succinctly named Words Get In The Way. Ms Lawrence explains: "I am seeking ways to merge my portraits, essentially pure representational art, with a slightly abstract style. The collage techniques incorporate a variety of different textured surfaces within the painting, so the portraits are superimposed on a surface composed of embossed patterns as well as cuttings taken from various sources. The cuttings are suggestive of an underlying story - a narrative thread running through them."

Peering closer at the paintings, it is evident the technique has been worked and re-worked into a finesse that is startling and it is hard to discern where the acrylic breaks off and the adjuncts conclude.

And the use of all those bits and pieces juxtaposed on and in the painting elicit further questions - why collages and why mosaics? "I am amalgamating my love of painting faces along with my love of writing and expression via language; also bringing more drawing into the painterly process. I actually find greater satisfaction in using drawing instruments to express myself than in the use of a paintbrush. My limited access to art materials and a very narrow window of time to work in, pressed me to rely on whatever I had at hand. My longstanding concern about environmental issues, specifically minimising paper wastage, also came into play. Having my personal detritus incorporated into my paintings also takes personalisation of the art piece to another level!"

Embossed wallpaper, cheques, postal orders, one envelope with the printed words "important information enclosed", surprisingly even a torn five pound note which "I found in my storage box in my sister's house in London" ... and like a detective, the viewer can try to piece the pieces together to understand.

Further on, there are the faces of Africa. Again, mutely restrained faces that belie the joviality of those costumes that speak exuberance, yet... the two women in Body Language carry on oblivious of any voyeurs in the room. "Here & Gone" speaks of two men and their being, transitory as it is in their own morphing environment, their passage through time and places. Another woman, in all her radiant youth is boldly called Africa and embodies the whole essence of Africa beauty.

While the artist tries her hand at landscapes in various takes and trials, the best of which are definitely the Vittoriosa trio, her work can be encapsulated in one painting called Mask. It seems to embody all the rest of the female portraits in an emblematic African scenario. The mask that is composed and re-composed of further masks and their intricate decorations, is surrounded by words - Latin for God, Love, Truth, and Wisdom, but these are further overcome by the handwritten words in strident red paint that read: "my love for you sold me into slavery". Is she referring to African slavery, modern white slavery, the slavery of unreturned love, the slavery of unresolved being? Is love slavery?

And so the picture complicates itself, the mystery becomes thicker with intrigue and leads to another insistent question - what really inspired this exhibition? Surprisingly, the answer was children! "Over the last two years I have been encouraging the children who come to learn art with me, to express themselves freely and unhindered by any sense of limitation in respect of what customarily goes with what. Over the course of my tuition I have been left wondering who's learned more - me or the kids. I have suddenly realised that the one thing I spent so much time doing when I was spending my early secondary school holidays in Dubai was cutting up and pasting photographs I'd taken of all my classmates and turning them into huge collages. Ironic. After constantly encouraging others in my classes to get in touch with the child within, I think I can say I finally have myself. And it's like paragliding without a parachute."

Finally, the title of the exhibition, Mosaic, could blandly be used to refer to the gathering of different themes and genres into one collection, and the mixed media techniques which the artist employed. But this exhibition encapsulates more than that. Beneath the surface the faces continue to speak further. There is an unspoken knowing that permeates the paintings - much like the silence of women who know but keep mum about it. The wisdom of women, sisterhood, shared suffering or hidden intrigue. Perhaps the faces of those female childhood friends remained emblazoned in time but need to come through to tell their own story.

• Mosaic, an exhibition of paintings by C. S. Lawrence, was at Gallery G in Lija. The paintings will still be available for private viewings. Further details may be obtained by phone on 2165 1202/3 and 9924 4684 or online: www.paintmalta.com