Two seemingly contrasting spaces, those pertaining to the sea and the bed, are the main motifs of Ritty Tacsum’s latest solo exhibition.

Where I Lay Down, currently on at Palazzo de la Salle in Valletta, features a series of photographs of various dimensions, some of which are presented as diptychs, that invite viewers to immerse themselves in the big blue sea and in the comfort only a bed can provide. 

The two contexts have been constants in the life and work of the young multimedia and experimental artist. For her, the sea and the bed represent places of refuge, solace, peace and oneness with the world and inner-most thoughts.

In a recent interview, the photographer called the exhibition “autobiographical” and said that her images are “the fruit of my daily thoughts, dreams and experiences”. 

Curator Lisa Gwen selected the 30 photos on display out of hundreds the artist took on the subject over a period of five years.

Most of the works feature a model, or more than one, interacting with the environment, sometimes dominating it while, at others, dominated by it. Some of these androgynous figures – a perpetual characteristic of Ritty’s works − appear relaxed but others seem pensive and moody.

This is the artist’s eighth solo show to date. 

The fruit of my daily thoughts, dreams and experiences

Her work has been featured in many art and design publications and she has exhibited in various curated shows abroad.

Among others, in 2013, she exhibited at the MOCA Taipei in Taiwan, in a collective exhibition about post-humanism that in-cluded works by artists like Björk, Patricia Piccinini and Daniel Lee. 

She also held a solo exhibition at the Photoville Fair in Brooklyn, New York, thanks to Arts Council Malta, and other collective and solo exhibitions in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Brussels.

One may visit Where I Lay Down at the Art Galleries, Palazzo de La Salle, 219, Republic Street, Valletta, until Thursday. 

The galleries are open from 8am to 7pm.

Ritty Tacsum’s models sometimes dominate, or are dominated by, the surrounding environment.