The latest event in the project-series FIVE is related to the sense of touch, which is being represented through sculpture.
For this purpose, the promoters have roped in sculptors Mario Agius from Gozo and Girio Marsili from Genoa, Italy.
FIVE is the collective project-title of a series of events being held throughout the year and dealing with the five senses. This is an EU initiative related to the declaration of 2008 as the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
The sculptors work outdoors, side by side, for hours at a stretch, over a two-day period. The action happens under a little tent-like canopy upon which are highlighted some of the future activities of FIVE. This enables them to exchange thoughts, concepts and methods of work, in the presence of onlookers and passers-by.
Both sculptors have been given the same material - a block of limestone roughly having the same dimensions. Their approach and their handling of the material reflects their diverse artistic upbringing and personal style.
Mr Agius has made preparatory sketches and marked his stone-block with pencil markings. Mr Marsili works from the imagination, letting the work progress and evolve as he goes along.
Mr Agius has come up with a vertical piece comprising a headless female torso. In contrast, Mr Marsili has tackled his block horizontally.
The Italian described his work in progress as an abstract landscape, inspired by events surrounding this project and his arrival in Malta.
He confessed to having been enchanted by the climate and atmosphere, so much so that it has been his sole muse in the undertaking of this sculpture.
Their artistic temperaments are also quite distinct:
Mr Marsili, wearing appropriate protective goggles, is a calm and slow worker. Mr Agius is quite aggressive, distributing strong, confident blows to his piece. Mr Marsili graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara in 2006 and this is his first time here.
In the past, he worked in marble but recently worked in bronze and other metals.
Limestone is not a medium Mr Agius is accustomed to either, the majority of his sculptures having being made of wood.
Both sculptors do, however, investigate different tactile qualities in their works; the forms of which have been somewhat dictated and limited by the shape and size of the stone-block.
Rough and smooth surfaces work, complement, as well as oppose one another, creating a play on shadows.
The event started yesterday morning close to the open air market in Merchants Street, Valletta and will continue today at the open air market in Victoria.
St James Cavalier, Centre for Creativity in Valletta has been identified by the Ministry of Culture to act as the National Coordinating Body for this project, with Atelier Culture Projects as coordinators.
www.sjcav.org