Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/176463
28 THIS WEEK THIS WEEK CULTURE | TV | FILM CINEMA LISTINGS FOOD | WHAT'S ON The Young Turks of Malta's fine MaltaToday has been featuring profiles of the students from the MCAST Art and Design Higher National Diploma and Bachelor's programmes. In this, the fourth week, we interview Alixandra Bosios and Claudia Chircop The influence of MCAST AB: My time at MCAST has helped me in more ways than one. My experience – especially while studying Fine Arts – has broadened my horizons; in terms of research, acquiring the appropriate skills needed for whatever I am working on and making contacts and collaborating with artists from various fields from the wide spectrum that is art. MCAST has also fueled my determination to work for and achieve what I believe in. Regarding personal work, given the nature of my chosen concepts (which more often than not tend to be taboo), MCAST has helped in the sense that I had to adapt my work for it to be exhibited, in a subtle manner. CC: MCAST has thought me to think with an open mind. I was thought how to appreciate art both through its history and most prominently through practice. It introduced me to the process of documenting my work through various sketchbooks, which led me to record my improvement throughout the years. The intense research and developing process of an idea which we used to practice while studying became my routine for most of the artworks I produce. This contributes to having a more refined artistic idea. I have grown to see, analyse and interpret the world around me. Consequently, my work reflects both the skills I have learnt as well as the person I have become. Your art's main defining factor AB: When it comes to concepts, I usually work with a few core notions: identity, distortion, sexuality and taboo, often merging them together. I cannot really pinpoint one main defining factor as my work tends to be an eclectic mix of media, techniques and processes. Recently I have come to know that my chosen palette of colors tends to sway towards the pop movement, and as for brush strokes and line work I am anything but neat, more often than not using a brash expressionistic manner to portray whatever I want to convey. CC: I consider my work to be colourful, and I hope it evokes a feel-good emotion in viewers. Having collage, installation, illustration and digital manipulation as my favorite media, I am very much inspired by architecture as well as child art. And so, a playful distortion and pointed rooftops would be the two main characteristics that represent my work. The next step in your artistic development AB: I have no concrete plan mapped out for my future. What I do know is that being a 24/7 fine artist is the ultimate relish for me. I definitely want to get my next qualifications in photography over and done with and also tap into make-up so I can give my clients a holistic package. Another probability is Pop-up installation CLAUDIA CHIRCOP Venezia digital manipulation Illustration 1 that I continue on Fine Arts by sitting for my Masters, but not at the time being. Cinematography is also in the pipeline, have got a couple of short courses abroad which most probably I will attend over the next couple of months. Another venture is working on publishing a book: a mix of illustrations, photography and writings. Cooking also intrigues me! So much to do, so little time! The world is my oyster! CC: I am planning to proceed with my Masters studies after which I aim to become a character animator. Working with children is also my passion, therefore becoming a teacher is also my other aim.