Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/463339
VII This week maltatoday, Sunday, 15 February 2015 Let's go to selfie school don't get too comfortable TeOdOr reLJIC speaks to Carolina bortolotti, one of the curators of the exhibition afterselfie – beyond masks, currently on display at St James Cavalier, Valletta. First conceived at last year's edition the Valletta International Visual art Festival, the collective exhibition will travel to Trentini in Trento, Italy in May Photographer ritty Tacsum speaks to us about the work she'll be exhibiting during afterselfie How was the Afterselfie project first conceived? Afterselfie tooks shape during the 2014 edition of VIVA Curato- rial School (the Valletta Interna- tional Visual Art Festival) one of the Valletta 2018 Foundation's projects with the intention to create a collaboration between Maltese and Italian artists that focuses the attention on an important and con- temporary theme such as the false (re)presentation of the self. This has been done in relation to selfies, a phenomenon which also echoes Pirandello's theory of living masks within a contemporary context whereby a person wears a mask in order to conform to society and it's misleading codes. What was the initial aim of the collaboration? Afterselfie was born with the aim to create a cultural exchange between Maltese and Italian artists and the other professionals involved in the organisation by the creation of a collective art exhibition on two different venues. This has been done with the collaboration of Simon Sultana Harkins, whom I met at the VIVA Curatorial School, and with the support of some important cultural and public institution: St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, the Valletta 2018 Foundation, the Ital- ian Cultural Institute of Valletta, the Autonomous Province of Trento and last but not least Palazzo Tren- tini, the Italian venue for Afterselfie project. How did you go about searching for artists? What criteria did you employ? The artists involved in Afterselfie project are all joined by an interest- ing reflection on the human being and its representation. I know the Italian artists in person and I follow some of them as curator so I was sure of their final outcome; whereas the research for Maltese artists has been more elaborate: I studied a lot about their backgrounds, their artistic research and latest production and at the end I really wanted each of them in Afterselfie exhibition. I'm very pleased with the choice of all the artists involved: both the works of art proposed by the artists and the works especially created for Afterselfie are highly representative of each artist and coherent with the main theme of the project. On display you will find very different works of art created by Raphael Vella, Elisa Von Brockdorff, Ritty Tacsum, Adrian Abela, Gabriele Grones, Jacopo Di- mastrogiovanni, Elia Nadie, Debora Fella and Goghi&Goghi collective. I'm sure that different means used by the artists can suggest different interpretations on Afterselfie and encourage the audience to go deeper in the proposed theme. What kind of impact do you hope the exhibition will have? What do you hope local artists can glean from observing such a collaborative effort, especially given its international dimension? I'm sure that Afterselfie art exhibi- tion can be a good opportunity for Maltese artists to be well known and appreciated in another place. In the past I collaborated for some of the most important contemporary art galleries of the north of Italy where they can be easily introduced and appreciated. I'll do my best to thank them for trusting me. The exhibition will remain on dis- play until March 15. It will move to Trentini in Trento, Italy on May 15 How did it feel to be invited to exhibit at this particular exhibition? It was an honour to be invited to take part in such a show – collab- orations like these should happen more often. Could you tell us a bit about the work you'll be exhibiting? The work I am exhibiting was previously part of a project I presented in 2013: Four Rooms. The works that Carolina Bortol- otti selected were all found in one particular 'room', entitled: 'In my mind'. The works mainly deal with my psyche and with all that goes through my mind – they are both a representation of as well as a projection of the self. How would you say your work has evolved over the years? What would you say are some of the most important things you've learnt as an artist? I think I have become more selective with what, whom and where I shoot. Before I used to shoot whatever comes to mind, nowadays I try to research the subjects concerned in more depth. One of the things I have learned as an artist is probably not to get too comfortable with any one subject. I think it's important to move outside one's comfort zone and to experiment with different techniques, media and subjects. Are you looking forward to see- ing your work travel to Trento as part of the exhibition? Certainly, it's always gratifying to have one's work travel and to represent Malta in a foreign country. My work has travelled to the UK and to Taiwan, so Italy will be another important achievement. How would you describe the contemporary arts scene in Malta? What would you say it needs most of all? Since I started out, the con- temporary art scene in Malta has changed and improved; more collaborations, new initiatives and new opportunities for artists. Personally, I think we (visual artists) need more spaces to exhibit in. How long can I keep on exhibiting in the same space? It gets boring after a while; the choice is too limited. There are very few spaces available that ca- ter for visual artists, and utilising, let's say a public space, is more than possible, but it is also very costly! Nowadays, the only thing I look forward to are the people I exhibit with / the collaborations that develop and the concept at the core of any given project - the space being used has almost become secondary. And this is wrong, spaces should be comple- mentary, neutral yet malleable, an integral part of each project and the people exhibiting in them. Work by Elisa von Brockdorff at Afterselfie