Interview /Malta / Printmaking October - December ‘20 MALTA
Silk LISA GWEN ANDREWS
Alexandra Aquilina
T
here’s a very unique feeling associated with the experiencing of art shows and exhibitions. It’s a craving; a hunger; for our eyes and minds to devour and consume; it’s a need of visual stimulus; of enrichment. Online consumption of art is hardly rewarding. The physical connection, the dynamic of standing within a space, the confrontation with the intimate creations of others, has the ability to linger for far longer than the immensely over-saturated online offering can – generally one artwork at a time. Which is why we experience withdrawal symptoms, caused by the incessant barrage of postponed, if not cancelled events.
into some detail to explain what she calls, a “love affair with screen printing”, which began “around 10 years ago and completely by accident.” During a self-led assignment at MCAST, she chose to research the gig poster scene, since she was in a band; “from there I fell down a rabbit hole… Screen printing was the perfect balance between commercial and fine art; it allowed for multiples but not too much that it became disposable, it was a medium in itself and not just a reproductive
Having already written about the ‘should have been’ exhibitions, and subsequently, featured updates for some of the main visual art shows back on the calendar, I’ve drawn two such events together – one originally having been scheduled to be held at Desko, in Valletta, between the MarchJune period. Both exhibitions – CUBE: Manipulations, by Sarah Maria Scicluna, and another, collective show, Spread the Ink – focus entirely on silk screen printing. The exhibitions are otherwise unrelated, conceptually or curatorially. The focus on printmaking over the past years begs some attention, especially where processes and techniques are concerned. The Out of Print exhibition, held at the ex-Ministry of Tourism (today MUZA), a decade or so ago, comes steadfastly to mind, as does the iMprint series of exhibitions, the last edition of which organised late last year. These initiatives are precursors; generating impetus for and about the medium. The first exhibition, Spread the Ink, curated by Alexandra Aquilina, who is a creative in her own right, went on show, mid-September. Aquilina goes Ready to expose
No.12__ Artpaper / 016
Printing the first layer
