Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1204548
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2020 5 THIS WEEK ART clean of gender neuroses 'Rinse' – the body of work to be exhibited, thematically originated from the limitations society imposes surrounding gender and its relative associ- ations, expectations, and con- ditions. Society has felt the need to gender anything and everything and, whether con- sciously or not, many individ- uals live their lives in a state of trigger or conflict surrounding such gender-specific influenc- es. 'Rinse' is an aesthetic and conceptualised rinsing of these accumulated thoughts, roles, and conditions, which have been imprinted in one's under- standing of an individualised and collective concept of iden- tity. Participating in the Art + Feminism exhibition prompt- ed me to revisit my views on feminism. In my opinion, fem- inism is equality for all genders and not something that should discriminate between one gen- der and another. It is a dynam- ic concept that continues to evolve with society as a whole. Initiatives like this exhibition contribute to keeping this evo- lution going, offering the op- portunity to a diverse group of creatives to publicly pres- ent alternative perspectives on such a subject. What do you make of the lo- cal visual arts scene? What would you change about it? I think the local art scene has definitely improved over the past few years with a number of initiatives slowly coming to fruition. I recently started working at Valletta Contem- porary so I may be slightly bi- ased as my surroundings are very much immersed in it all. This being said, when compar- ing Malta to the activity and diversity abroad, there is still room for further development. Something which I would may- be like to see more of, rather than change, are communal spaces that not only exhibit visual art, but also provide a space for conversation, con- nectivity and contemplation – this could be something as simple as a creative-oriented cafe. What's next for you? Artistically speaking, I am currently taking part in Ar- titivisti, which is a year long funded programme organised by Arts Council Malta and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. The pro- gramme combines creative practice and activism, with the intent to impact society through art. The project is still at its formative stages, howev- er, alongside my mentor, Mar- gerita Pule, I am excited to see how my working concept will develop, it's been quite a re- vealing process till now. Apart from that, on my web- site, I recently launched a se- ries of illustrative limited edi- tion fine art prints under the primary title REPOSE. As the title suggests, they are done in my downtime and are more instantaneous compared to my other work. I approach the act of drawing without any preconceived notions of what visual will result, which is personally rather refreshing. I want to continue growing the series and watch it develop or- ganically. Those are my main focuses for the time being, however, I remain open to oth- er potential opportunities and collaborations. Art+Feminism will be on display at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta from February 7 to April 5. The exhibition is curated by Toni Sant. Emma Fsadni will be displaying her works alongside fellow artists Mirjana Batinić, Debbie Caru- ana Dingli, Oksana Chepelyk, Therese Debono, Anna Grima, Gloria Oyarzabal and Enrique Tabone. A curator's tour will be given on March 6 at 3pm and March 8 at 10.30am "Society has felt the need to gender anything and everything and, whether consciously or not, many individuals live their lives in a state of trigger or conflict surrounding such gender-specific influences" Emma Fsadni (Photo by Matt Thompson)