Birthday Boy. Right: Tatooed figure.

The exhibition, Tiegħi, by Matthew Cassar, sees the artist getting directly involved with the public in his artistic process.

Over the past 18 months, the artist organised five activities in different locations, including Mount Carmel Hospital in Attard and St Vincent de Paul residence in Marsa, where members of the public were asked to complete unfinished copies of his work. From these paintings, the artist completed the originals, basing his ideas directly on those drawn by the public. Both sets of paintings will be exhibited for a clear visual explanation of the process.

The title, Tiegħi (Mine), refers to the concept of ownership of the ideas in each work of art. Participants were allowed to paint and dictate themes in each painting, making every one of them a partial ‘owner’ of each concept depicted.

This is Cassar’s second solo exhibition. The self-taught artist chose to put himself in a tricky position in this project, having to incorporate ideas dictated by others. The result was a personal growth in his works which now show heightened sense of modern symbolism.

Tiegħi runs until March 27 at the Maritime Museum, Vittoriosa. This project is supported by the Malta Arts Fund and Heritage Malta.