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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 SEPTEMBER 2021 5 ART 'WHEN your voice shakes' shall be Ġulja Holland's third much-anticipated solo show in Malta and marks her return to the local art scene following her move to London in 2019. THEMATICALLY, the exhibi- tion links to her previous solo exhibition which was reflected upon man's impact on the nat- ural environment. This time around, the artist offers a more intimate and localised interpre- tation of a global crisis. The idea for the series of works came about in 2019 up- on visiting an exhibition of her favourite artists, William Blake at the Tate Britain. She came across this quote of his: "The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way... As a man is, so he sees." At the time Holland was in her first semester at her col- lege and looked on helplessly as various road-widened pro- jects were carried out in Mal- ta including the controversial Central Link project. Using the motif of trees to represent Mal- ta's natural heritage, Holland sought to create a body of work that challenges our country's collective understanding of the progress. Due to the pandem- ic, Holland was separated from her works when her college, along with the rest of the UK, plunged into lockdown at the beginning of 2020. This exhi- bition presents her first oppor- tunity to show the paintings in the context they were inspired by. Over the past few months, she has also created new large paintings in dialogue with the older smaller works. As refer- ence imagery, she utilised the secondary images of old trees and valuable farmland ear- marked for destruction which appeared on her social media. Her limited palette consists of varying shades of the primary colours and is representative of the colours of Malta. But there was also another consideration for Holland- that of politics. When your voice shakes shall be held at Studio 87, Valletta from the 22nd September- 6 October, Mon - Fri from 3 pm - 7 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am-1:00 pm. Opening evening: 21st September 2021, 6pm-10pm To keep updated on her jour- ney towards her solo show follow her on Instagram @gul- jaholland or Facebook: www. f a c e b o o k . c o m / G u l j a H o l l a n - dArtist/ Studio 87 host artist Ġulja Holland's third solo show THIS autumn sees the opening of a new exhibition in Malta's up and coming art scene. The art collective known as duopunc- tumstud.io, a collaboration be- tween artists Nadette Clare-Tal- bot and Caroline O'Callaghan, launches their exciting debut collection of work, entitled Elec- tive Affinity. On show exclu- sively from 14 October 2021 at the Lily Agius Gallery in Sliema, the exhibition will showcase twelve individual bodies of work centred around the subject of still life, captured in a photo- graphic style more traditionally seen within classic portraiture. Drawing inspiration from their different artistic back- grounds, Nadette and Caroline began collaborating in Malta in 2019 and ultimately formed their collective, duopunctum- stud.io, in early 2021. Their launch collection, Elective Af- finity, showcases their com- plementary talents which are inspired by a powerful, shared aesthetic. Each of the twelve works showcased in the exhi- bition began with a visual idea, which was typically developed into a three-dimensional bo- tanically themed sculpture, fol- lowed by a live installation and, finally, a photographic image that captures the theatrical magic of their unique artistic approach. With the duo's interest in perception and illusion, each body of work seeks to juxta- pose disparate subjects. It is this jarring visual experience, a "punctum" for the viewer, that the duo seeks to explore from the inception of each individual idea through to the creation of the installation and ultimately a powerful photographic image. Various other themes are also woven into each body of work, some of which are repeated throughout the exhibition. For example, digital references are featured both in terms of light- ing techniques that use diverse sources and reflections, as well as the creative placement of projected images. All visual ef- fects are produced in the studio without any post-production trickery, yet each photographic piece has the appearance of a highly veneered post-produc- tion aesthetic. All of this is masterfully achieved, creating widely different narratives for the same visual story. The re- sulting images are unique and a testimony to the technical and artistic skills of this highly tal- ented duo. "It's always a satisfying thing to see two artists work so well together and produce a good body of work," says Lily Agius, the curator of the exhibition. "Nadette and Caroline have been discussing their collabo- ration for some time, and de- spite Covid uncertainty, they used it productively to find a new dialogue between them and create something fresh and bold - that of which is neither the style of one or the other but the two of them put together. Their unbridled ambition has resulted in a unique collec- tion of artwork and a stunning show." Vanitas explores the contem- porary obsession with how we present and preserve our image publicly through social me- dia. The piece depicts a cloche jar, which was a visual signifi- er commonly used within Old Master still lifes as a symbol of preservation. This cloche dome is empty, preserving nothing but an anonymous digital re- flection. CandyLand is a moment in time, completely still yet tee- tering on the edge of collapse. The sculptural composition is based on the balance and flow of a classic Japanese Ikebana floral arrangement. In the im- age, however, the composition is in flux, flung forward and almost exploding out of the frame. The flow and balance within the arrangement are completely disrupted, creating an image that balances chaos and calm. PLUGE is the final studio piece produced by the duo within this collection. The flowers are arranged in accord- ance with Rikka, the oldest style of Ikebana, and have a calming, balanced quality with muted tones. But this colour palette is boldly contrasted with the bright, garish primary colours of the television test card. Al- though the symmetry and bal- ance are maintained within the composition, the vivid colours of the test card completely up- end this harmony. To follow the duo's story and to learn more about the full exhibition pieces, including behind the scenes, and to view the final photographic images follow them on Instagram @ duopunctumstudio.io Debut collection by Nadette Clare-Talbot and Caroline O'Callaghan lanced at Lily Agius Gallery Nadette Clare-Talbot and Caroline O'Callaghan