Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1082991
THIS WEEK ART maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 4 Artist Patrick Fenech exhibited his latest, ecologically-charged exhibit at Spazju Kreattiv in St James Cavalier at the tail end of 2018. Now, parts of it will be touring across Europe. He speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about the themes that underlie this latest work from the multi-media veteran 'DIS' implies a very rich, even urgent, combination of thematic elements. What are the main ideas that inform this work, and how did you first commit to them, and why? Caring about our planet was always central in my work. Perhaps some will recall 'A Shroud for the Sea' series and 'Caught a Rainbow in My Net'. These were large photography composites produced in the years 2008/9, now in the US (Embassy) State Art collection. With this solo show, I really wanted to emphasise the fact that we are fast moving towards annihilating our precious blue dot and like so many other artists, I feel I can use my art to do that little bit and create more awareness to this situation. However small the con- tribution might be, every little bit counts. The biggest problem we face today is our collective amnesia on climate change and ignoring the fact of global warm- ing. The Earth is starting to feel the pinch and the perpe- trators at the root of this ecological mess, paradoxical- ly, are Homo Sapiens, who need to preserve the very ecosystems they thrive on. John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' provided the connection, with his same concern echoed from the past, which I then connected to the present day. Could you now tell us a little bit about the implementation process of the idea? How did you decide on the chosen media for each piece and your general approach to each of them? Obviously, this is the toughest and most interesting part of my art practice research in 'presenting the un- presentable'. The process from idealisation to realisa- tion took a good year or so. This is the most exciting part when you let yourself go and immerse yourself into a whirlwind of influences, ideas and thought. Artists such as Hieronymus Bosch and contemporary figures like Goldsworthy and Eliasson, Pedro Reyes and Agnes Denes, etc., all come to the forefront. Then the pivot evolved around literary names the likes of John Milton and Ken Hiltner who researched and published 'Milton and Ecology'. Let's not forget the great photographer Ansel Ad- ams, who wrote in his autobiography: "The quality of place, the reaction to immediate contact with earth and growing things that have a fugal relationship with mountains and sky, is essential to the integrity of our existence on this planet." Then, after a period of ex- perimentation, some ideas start to fall into place. The fun with installation art is that you are not restricted to one medium, so an artist can express himself to the fullest by using all sorts of media and materials avail- able, especially new technologies. Do you think that artists look away from contemporary environmental concerns at their own risk? With the realities of climate change in particular becoming more and more evident, do you agree that any artist deliberately looking away from its alarming implications risks appearing blinkered and/or in denial? Artists who react to contemporary environmental concerns are more relevant than ever. Tying together the scientific and creative worlds in acts of beauty and activism, sculptors, painters, photographers and others have the power to make environmentalism a priority, and bring in green initiatives to the forefront of cultural conversation. The artist, like the scientist, has a crucial role to perform in our society. They see things differently, they then act on this vision and re- port the failures and successes. Ultimately, every art- ist is free to express himself and that is why art seems timeless as it continues to redefine itself. What kind of international exposure will some of the works in this exhibition be enjoying, and how does it feel to have achieved this? Three of the exhibits from the 'DIS-' exhibition have been selected by an international jury following an open call and will be included in the forthcoming Ostrale Biennale 2019 in Dresden this June. The Os- trale Biennale has been going on since 2007 and is the third largest exhibition for contemporary art in Ger- many. Before that, I have been invited to take part in a 'live transmission' exhibition called 'Shared Spaces' in May, when a selected group of artists will be put- ting up their work in various countries coordinated by MOVE.BG. This, of course, brings great joy and satisfaction to see that Maltese art is being recognised internationally, as other Maltese artists continue to break ground on the international platform. What do you make of the local visual arts scene? What would you change about it? The local art scene has grown and developed dra- Teodor Reljic The last gasp of the blue planet Artist Patrick Fenech Selection of works from 'DIS', a multi-media exhibition by Patrick Fenech