The Carmelite Priory in Mdina is the fitting venue for artist Damian Ebejer’s 16th solo exhibition, in which he revisits the writings of St Teresa of Avila, the Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic.
The Within, Paintings and Divergencies features seven large canvases, the Seven Mansions, which are found in St Teresa’s great book on Catholic mysticism, The Interior Castle.
The Seven Mansions canvases were created two years ago and mirroring these seven works, Mr Ebejer has since created nine other spontaneous, divergent works that are a reflection of his thoughts and feelings derived from his initial work on those canvases.
The artist says his visual representations of the text express his “inner journey towards the mystery which we all carry within ourselves”.
The idea behind the exhibition had been evolving for several years. In fact, in 2011, Mr Ebejer painted an abstract work which he entitled The Ecstasy of St Teresa, which he admits was inspired after seeing Bernini’s famous statue of the same name in Rome.
During his 2013 solo show, The Passage of Memory, he discussed in depth the writings of St Teresa with Fr Charlo Camilleri, Prior of the Carmelite convent in Mdina and lecturer with the Department of Theology at the University of Malta.
This led him to research St Teresa’s literary works, especially The Interior Castle.
In this journey St Teresa opens to us the secrets of inner transformation
“Through the Mansions, St Teresa invites us to embark with her on an inner journey to explore and discover ‘The Within’ meandering from one mansion to another, from the First to the Seventh,” explains Mr Ebejer.
“In this journey she also opens to us the secrets of inner transformation from alienation to attentiveness, from fragmentation to integrity, from ignorance to self-knowledge.
“The Seven Mansions map our way of recovery from intoxication to primordial innocence and purity. The manuscript constantly describes and illuminates the journey within, making this mystical writing a universal call to authentic living through inner freedom.”
In the exhibition, Mr Ebejer has shown his visual interpretations of the Seven Mansions for the first time, in what was always their destined venue, the Carmelite Priory.
This is also likely to be the last time the original Seven Mansions ‘tapestries’ can be seen all together in Malta, as individual works will now belong to different collectors.
This, Mr Ebejer says, will end the “St Teresa of Avila period” in his artistic career, although he does not rule out the possibility of being influenced by the “STJ syndrome” in future works (the saint is also known as St Teresa of Jesus).
“With the separation of the Seven Mansions collection it will never be the same, hence a feeling of release – not relief – and closure.”
The other nine works in the exhibition are tangents and experiments carried out over the past two years in connection with St Teresa.
“These works are as relevant as the original seven, touching waters that I had not dealt with during the outset of this project; they contain a further starkness and purity.”
Mr Ebejer intentionally created these artforms using discarded items, giving them a new life.
The purpose was to capture the element of transformation from something that was ‘dead’ and giving it life.
This, he explains, was a crucial factor reflecting St Teresa’s teachings about our own possible evolving spiritual development.
The Within exhibition is open daily at the Carmelite Priory in Mdina until Sunday. Viewing times are between 11am and 4pm. Mr Ebejer will be at the venue to meet viewers for the duration of the exhibition.
damianart@onvol.net
