E. V. Borg writes:
Agostino (Wistin) Baldacchino, who died on January 28, was a great friend of the Art Discussion Group. As chairman I had asked him to be our invited artist of the month.
He was born in Żebbuġ. His father Karmenu was a confectioner by trade and taught Wistin his craft. Often they produced artistic sculpture in their media and the experience was the first inkling for the photographer to observe his environment with a critical eye.
In 1976 he enrolled with the Photographic Society (Malta) and in the short period of five years he won the Junior Photographer of the Year (1980), the AFIAP (Artiste de la Federation de l’Art Fotografique) in 1983 and the ARPS (Associate of the Royal Photographic Society) in 1985.
In monochrome Joseph Vella of Mosta was his kind and dedicated mentor, while in colour photography he was all alone and had to learn empirically, by trial and error. His photography won acclaim internationally, with more than 5,000 acceptances and over 300 gold, silver and bronze awards.
He was mainly interested in realism: sharp and blunt with maximum definition even in action. Central to his subject was man’s predicament, man caught unawares in his passive and active role. Dramatic incidents were his speciality, especially those moments in our life charged with the stress and tension of relationships. Events caught in a split second yet interpreted in such a way that is complex and deep. Such frames can withstand analysis and discussion for hours on end.
He excelled in the field of photojournalism, and his spontaneous shots together with their ‘instant impact’ quality made it imperative for the spectator to get involved.
It is difficult to account for the way he chose the right moment to capture human drama in his camera lens, quite difficult to explain how one could feel his protagonists think or reflect – a continuous action, he managed to freeze into permanence an ephemeral moment that took less than a split second. Probably it was just fine reflex, pure instinct.
His studies of skin-heads, punks and hippies were perhaps some of his best shots. But he equally liked tramps, vagrants, ostracised members of society. He had a special sensitivity for women and could suggest and arouse titillation and eroticism at will. He liked capturing crowds and their movement as much as the lone person. He loved people.