Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1530039
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 DECEMBER 2024 2 ART Reflections on Matthew Shirfield's Faustus in 'The Dirge' BY HANNA DOWLING LAST week I visited Matthew Shirfield's debut solo exhibi- tion The Dirge, at the Splen- did in Strait Street, Valletta. The exhibition, which is cu- rated by Roderick Camilleri, is a contemporary understand- ing of the cautionary nar- rative of Doctor Faustus, as seen through the writings of Christopher Marlowe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, and Klaus Mann. The works explore the consequenc- es of pursuing desires that ulti- mately lead to self-destruction. Whilst entering the exhibi- tion, I was immediately capti- vated by the sense of eeriness. Essentially, with these works, Shirfield creates a space and a feeling which is inherent- ly strange. It's not a horrific strangeness, but rather, a 'fas- cination […] for that which lies beyond standard perception, cognition and experience', as described by Mark Fisher. In the 41 works on display, which have been divided thematically into different series, Shirfield encapsulates the struggling di- chotomy present in humanity: the good and the bad, the black and the white, the all-knowing academic and the foolish joker. 'If we are not who we think we are, what are we?' [Mark Fish- er, The Weird and the Eerie, 11]. This dichotomy is ech- oed in Shirfield's Self-Portrait of a newly graduate in clown make-up; a personal favourite of mine. Stylistically, his works range from paintings, prints, and photomontages, amongst oth- er media. Whilst the paintings convey an artistic language which is reminiscent of Wil- lie Apap, his photomontages entitled the Walpurgis-Fes- ta Series, encapsulates the Faustian dichotomy through photographic and painterly techniques. Shirfield utilises paint and pastel to alter his photographs of people who pass away their time watching fireworks. In Faustian terms, we are moved by ambition; the constant search to justify our time on this Earth. However, this 'infinite space' is idleness. With Shirfield's brush, these people, who are idly passing time by entertaining them- selves, turn into macabre crea- tures who convey an uncanny parallel to the narrative in John Carpenter's They Live (1988). There is a seriousness to it, but at the end of the day, that's en- tertainment. We entertain our- selves to while away our time until the inevitable clock stops ticking. Perhaps, the reason as to why we are captivated by the eeri- ness of this exhibition, is be- cause it poses a narrative which the majority of us can relate to. Who knows who we are, where we are, and what we are meant to be doing in this life. What our drive, am- bition and purpose really is. Why are we on this constant search of discovery, that is ul- timately ridden by goals, am- bitions and power? Why have we been taught to think that it is a disease for one to simply let life be? We are constantly searching for the unattainable; moving forward in illusionary circles, thinking we are get- ting closer to finding truth. In The Dirge, Shirfield does not seek to answer nor solve any of these questions. Rather, this solo exhibition offers a lens to portray. An opportunity to recognise. But can one ever really realise their own fault? With this exhibition, Shirfield is holding a mirror up to so- ciety. He portrays the fault of humanity; Eve's apple; through the story of Doctor Faustus, which has secured its place in the contemporary scheme of existence. Shirfield's work thus offers a way of understanding his own existence in the eyes of a changing and evolving world. The subject matter and the- matic approach in this exhi- bition offer no answers to the Grand Narrative, nor the Faus- tian truth. Rather, Shirfield opens up a blackhole of funda- mental discussions that need to take place now. Through art, the very medium which Shirfield uses to explore this narrative, he is portraying an eternal quest for truth, which is ultimately a futile adventure in Alice's Wonderland. Through his works, he conveys that hu- manity has indeed fallen down the rabbit hole, and there is very little hope for us of get- ting out. The search for truth is nothing but a trending search for existence. A useless meas- ure in our attempt to under- stand the purpose of humanity. We fear a life that was spent dreaming instead of doing. Of consuming, rather than creat- ing. We fear being stuck in the monotonous cycle of conform- ing to systematic tradition, which ultimately deprives us of our own freedom and creativ- ity. Perhaps, the means of un- derstanding Shirfield's works and the Faustian narrative may very well be to take a leaf out of Rainer Maria Rilke's writings, where he warns 'to be patient towards all that is unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms, like books writ- ten in a foreign tongue.' [Rilke, 37] 'Just as for a long-time people were deceived about the movement of the sun, so we are still deceived about the movement of what is to come. The future is fixed, dear Mr Kappus, but we move around in infinite space.' [Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet, 56] Matthew Shirfield, 'Walpurgis-Festa Series', 2024