Spazju Kreattiv artist-in-residence Anthony Hawley has created a new multimedia installation currently on display in Valletta.

Massive Filter goes through his past work, taking its title and primary concept from a spam/junk e-mail scam proffering money and goods in exchange for personal data and digits. E-mails of this sort play sharply upon our desire for a better life, promising exclusive access to rare deals or love.

But at what cost? A “massive filter” (or a filter of any kind) erases certain details while allowing us to see others.

Taking this as its point of departure, Hawley’s installation creates an environment which explores the idea of what gets lost, forgotten, what we try to hold on to and expunge.

In the exhibition, large double-sided drawings hang throughout the space like giant pages of a scrapbook. These surfaces function as both drawing and projection surface, collecting gestures, fragmented stories, outdated technologies and more. Videos in English and Maltese spill into each other, creating a sense of auditory overload.

Meanwhile throughout the space roam figures reminiscent of the Neolithic ‘fat lady’ statuettes, acting as custodians or caretakers of all this information and data.

American-born visual artist and writer Hawley is engaged in the production of large-scale multimedia projects, painting and drawing, installations, performances, short films, writings on contemporary art, research and education for social and artistic change, and research and education surrounding colour.

He has also been the recipient of numerous residencies and awards. His most recent project, Fault Diagnosis, was presented in April 2016 by CounterCurrent, the Menil Collection, and Aurora Picture Show in Houston, Texas. He currently teaches at the School of Art, Art History and Design at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a visiting critic at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

■ The installation, set up at St James Cavalier in Valletta, is open for viewing until January 2. For more information, visit http://kreattivita.org .