The Insanity of Vanity transmedia exhibition is a collaboration between artist Angele Galea, actress Alba Florian Viton and videographer/singer Mia Scerri.
The idea was born after Angele saw a video produced by Alba and Mia and was intrigued by what she terms their ‘dynamic vision’. The three got together and, after brainstorming sessions and meetings, The Insanity of Vanity was born.
The project was inspired by the shallowness of vanity, which nowadays is all-pervasive and is exemplified and glorified on all media.
Inspired by cases throughout history that bring to mind similar situations, Angele wanted to delve into the reasons why a person in this day and age would fixate on posting their life online for others to see – with particular reference to selfies online. Aware that humans have always wanted to preserve their image for posterity, Angele directed Alba to take on the role of different characters in order to capture the moments when she is taking her selfies, leading her to try and understand what one would be going through in the process.
Through Alba’s characterisation combined with Mia’s photography, Angele wanted to portray the grotesqueness of vanity as self-preservation. The result incorporates a short, surreal film and a set of portraits that showcase these characters as they are caught taking selfies.
While many are fixated on garnering as many likes on social media as possible, others around us are struggling for their basic needs, hoping they are not bombed in their sleep
The idea behind the project was also to have the viewer be part of this self-reflection process; this is achieved through interactive installations. These installations allow the viewers to be cut off from the world around them so they can delve in the world of mirrors and masks derived from Angele’s theatrical background.
Viewers look within a space and see themselves as another person. What if their reality were different? How would they feel about themselves? If they were a woman in a hijab, surrounded by other Islamic women, how would they feel? What if they were an African person trying to find his/her sexual identity? If they were a child caught up in war? Or even a child bride?
While many are fixated on garnering as many likes on social media as possible, others around us are struggling for their basic needs, hoping they are not bombed in their sleep, or that they are not killed simply for being themselves.
In a world where consumerism and being self-centred are endorsed by global companies and governments, empathy is the only true way we preserve ourselves. The project explores how, if humans continue in this path of destruction, there will be nothing to preserve in the coming generations – and that is when we are truly forgotten.
The Insanity of Vanity runs between September 25 and October 8 (with live performances on Notte Bianca) at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta.