Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/199842
28 THIS WEEK THIS WEEK The Young Turks of Malta's fine art scene MaltaToday has been featuring profiles of the students from the MCAST Art and Design Higher National Diploma and Bachelor's programmes. In this, the ninth and final week, we interview Pamela Bezzina The influence of MCAST My time at MCAST has helped me think about my work in a different manner. The course has managed to challenge me to think deeper, experiment more and not be afraid to try new techniques, even if at times I failed. For certain modules, they gave us that freedom to explore our ideas and think outside the box. They taught us how to research for new artists and look at both traditional and contemporary techniques. Your art's main defining factor Through these past few years, I have explored the theme of memories, so I tend to delve into personal subjects. Hence I think the defining factor of my work is the personal aspect, where I explore memories, and how they affect the individual and the artist. The next step in your artistic development I have an exhibition coming up at Blitz in Valletta. Since the summer, I've also Pamela Bezzina participated in a fashion show, where I collaborated with two other designers, designing a collection for Notte Bianca on October 5. I'm also working on new work, exploring textiles, photography and printing. CULTURE | TV | FILM CINEMA LISTINGS FOOD | WHAT'S ON Game of Thrones artist Ahead of his visit to our shore for the upcoming Malta Comic Con, veteran British comic book and storyboard artist Will Simpson speaks to us about his wideranging career, during which time he's drawn iconic characters like Batman and Judge Dredd as well as, most recently, served as a storyboard artist for the hugely popular HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones TEODOR RELJIC YOU'VE drawn a large number of characters, some of them quite iconic – like Judge Dredd and Batman. How much creative freedom do you have when you're working on such projects, and do you feel any excessive pressure owing to the fact that they're so legendary and have such a dedicated fan base? When I started my career, it was a massive step to go onto something like Judge Dredd, the character having been drawn by a series of incredible artists, but the greatest freedom, was the encouragement to be as independent in stylistic approach and develop the character in my own way. All the Dredd artists were given that kind of freedom. I think it's one of the reasons the character keeps going. Really, the same thing happened on Batman, as I got to work with the great editor, Archie Goodwin, who only hired artists on the trust of what they'd bring to the character. As to pressure, I felt my own imposed pressure, based on the fact that I was such a fan of the characters myself. But, from the first lines put down on paper, I totally relaxed into the stories, and trying to do my best. How did you find your transition into the US scene to be like? What were some of the main stepping stones for you when it came to working for Marvel and DC, and was the experience anything like you expected? I have a series of great fated moments in my life, and transitioning into the US Comic scene, was one of Will Simpson those. I'd finished on Rogue Trooper for 2000AD, with Dave Gibbons as writer, but the feeling was to move on, having drained myself on Rogue, and I was lucky to get interest from the States. I can't remember now, whether I got Aliens for Dark Horse first, or Hellblazer for DC Comics, but whichever came first, one would help the other. I'd been asked to ink Brett Ewins on a tryout Hellblazer Ominous portents: Simpson's concept art for the ravens in Game of Thrones page, but DC didn't go with Brett's approach, so only after that, I asked, could I have a shot, so I drew up a sample page. I got the job with Garth Ennis and life moved on from there. It wasn't the best experience as I hated being inked. I was used to doing all my own work and I had a rough time with inkers, some good, some awful. Now I'm not saying I'm best inking my own work but I'm certainly better than some of the messes that were inflicted on my stuff, so I guess it wasn't totally the best experience. But later, I got to ink my own work, Aliens, Batman, Punisher 2099, Vamps, and one of the two issues of Animal Man. I never minded the pressure or the deadlines, even when pushed, but I loved the work. I'm working on new stuff from Renegade in Canada, so it's back to doing everything again, which I much prefer. Perhaps it's something of a given that comics and storyboards share a genetic link as art forms – given how they're both explicit examples of sequential storytelling. But what would you say are some of the subtle differences between them, both as an art form in particular, and as industries in general? Storyboarding, for me, is like doing the roughs that I do for comics, so it's always unfinished work for me. I enjoy the storytelling aspect, and the fact that it's for camera, so when one sees