A Portrait of Sel(ves) – art exhibition at the Malta Stock Exchange
Credit Elisa von Brockdorff - Damian Darmanin - Coke Kingdom detail 1
Damian Darmanin - Coke Kingdom (image: Elisa von Brockdorf
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A Portrait of Sel(ves) is this year’s thematic collective art exhibition at the Malta Stock Exchange. Six local artists investigate characteristics of our selves within today’s global environment. Globalisation creates indifferences that can be described as a rise in recognizable qualities that reduce characteristic differences in our daily lives.
The exhibition is curated by Adrian Scicluna, who is also exhibiting his works as part of the collective. “The artworks were selected in line with the theme of the exhibition,” explains Scicluna. “A Portrait of Sel(ves) is about globalisation and the impact on human behaviour. The artists investigate characteristics of the notion of multiple selves within the global context we live in from different perspectives.
“The common thread in the artworks is the interest in human behaviour and patterns of our online selves,” he adds. “The artworks explore the usage of mobile phones, social media platforms and online apps while investigating the effects of standardization, classification, compression and breakdown produced by globalisation.”
More specifically, through their exhibits, the artists critique superficiality of online dating (Elisa von Brockdorff); abstraction of global branding (Damian Darmanin); breaking down of personal narratives (Ryan Falzon); classifications of social classes (Margerita Pule’); time dedicated to mobile devices (Matthew Schembri); and tensions within our multiple homogeneous selves (Adrian Scicluna).
Some of the participating artists tease out elements of human behaviour observed through our everyday use of devices, social media and apps while others give us a critique of the social global landscape inevitably subsuming us.
The works on display at the Malta Stock Exchange explore the theme through the use of various media ranging from interactive and site-specific installations to paintings and graphic prints.
“I would like the audience to enjoy the art exhibition as much as I enjoyed putting it together,” notes Scicluna. “The audience is invited to read into the references made in the artworks and reflect on how human behaviour is developing as a result of the increasingly global technological world of today. Very often we adjust and adapt to the changes around us without being consciously aware of how we are changing and reflecting on where we are heading…”
Food – or rather, art – for thought!
A Portrait of Sel(ves) at the Malta Stock Exchange, Garrison Chapel, Castille Place, Valletta is open to the public from today September 20 until October 16. The opening hours are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; from 4pm to 6.30pm. for more information and updates visit Mr Scicluna’s Facebook Page
