Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/685221
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 MAY 2016 30 This Week 'Our aim is to amaze' What was the thought process behind Homo Melitensis? What were the initial stages of it like? The title 'Homo Melitensis' ac- tually came right at the end. We came up with it a few days before submission of the proposal to the Arts Council. During the pre- ceding weeks, we were too busy talking and writing about differ- ent possible themes and curato- rial approaches to think about the title. Essentially, we agreed quite early during our brain- storming process that 'identity' has become an unavoidable is- sue in a political climate which increasingly regards the 'other' as a threat to one's own cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic make-up. The immigration issue can be explored from the perspective of the immigrant: this is neces- sary but has already been and is still undertaken by many artists and other activists. We thought of looking at the issue from the other, 'defensive' side of the fence. Which aspects of their identity are some people scared of losing as a result of this influx of immigrants? Are they worried about a possible Islamification of their culture, for instance? Then we asked ourselves, what do we do with our most price- less cultural artefacts when they are placed at extreme risk due to war, invasion and possible plun- der? As we know, museums and cul- tural institutions store or hide their most priceless objects dur- ing times like this to avoid sense- less destruction, vandalism and looting. Museums also prepare detailed inventories of every- thing they own. So we thought of working on an exhibition that provides us with an 'inventory' or archive of everything that is supposedly Maltese or endemic to the country, everything that different people may think is at risk of being lost as a result of the perceived threats of immi- gration and/or globalisation. By displaying these individual ele- ments in a spatial arrangement composed of compartments that are conventionally associated with museum displays, librar- ies or archives, the exhibition meshes ideas about territory and nation with the spaces of culture and juxtaposes past and present to create a picture of knowledge that is encyclopaedic but also fluid, ironic and somewhat ec- centric. Which aspects of the so-called 'Maltese identity' are you tak- ing as your starting point? How did you define it for your pur- poses, and how do you seek to deconstruct it? At the moment, we are using a relatively simple coding system that helps us to categorise per- ceptions about national identity extracted from texts, websites, newspaper articles, artefacts, photographs and so on. Homo Melitensis will be a large instal- lation that will bring together objects from past and present, found material, artworks and non-art elements in a non-hier- archical, non-chronological ar- rangement. The exhibition will include works by artists based in Malta, works by artists from the Maltese diaspora, folk artefacts, works from private and national collections, photographic and video-based documents that fol- low the democratic spirit of Mal- raux's 'museum without walls', and contemporary newspaper clippings that reflect Maltese so- cial realities. Our intention is to deliberately mix artefacts and objects related to different eras, different mate- rialities, different value systems and different economic classes in a manner that undermines the idea of a single Maltese identity. Now that it's been selected, what's the next step for Homo Melitensis? The bibliographic, historic and other research will be comple- mented by visits to a variety of collections in different venues. We will also visit artists' studios and initiate discussions about the inclusion of possible works. At a later stage, the design think- ing process and an online trans- media element will be discussed with other team members. The exhibition architecture and display cabinets will be built in collaboration with Tom Van Malderen and Architecture Pro- ject. Following content and cat- egories, the display shall incor- porate elements of traditional museum displays and archives, of viewing cabinets, as well as include typical formal elements of Maltese architecture. In addi- tion to the physical space of the exhibition and the publication, Homo Melitensis will be aug- mented through a transmedia storyworld developed in collab- oration with Stefan Kolgen. In this online space, visitors world- wide can thus explore and even contribute to the narrative. This storyworld will provide a paral- lel exhibition space, accessible online to worldwide audiences, even beyond the duration of the exhibition. What do you hope to achieve – both in the short- and long- term – with this opportunity? Our aim is to amaze – with ob- jects that take the visitor back in time to reveal crucial pieces of history that are still relevant today, through a series of geo- logical and biological marvels, to folk art, up to contempo- rary works, providing a unique choice of intriguing objects, like a temple of knowledge everyone can relate to. But we also want to take a political stand about the fluidity and problematics of identity, patriotism and nation- hood that transcends the formal quirkiness of specific artefacts. In this respect, we are convinced that the work of contemporary artists who already explore such themes will enrich the exhibi- tion by subverting assumptions and re-imagining social realities. Given the global implications of current debates about identity, national and human rights, we also hope to appeal both to local and international audiences and provide a playful yet thought- provoking approach to a serious question. Why do you call yourselves artist-curators? It means that we are both art- ists and curators in our practice. Even if we are taking on the role of curators for Homo Melitensis, we bring in our artistic visions and our creative thinking, play- ing an active role in the produc- Artist-curators Bettina Hutschek and Raphael Vella will be representing Malta at the Venice Biennale, after the duo's transmedia collage concept 'Homo Melitensis' won the competition to lead the Malta Pavilion at the prestigious contemporary art event. They speak to TEODOR RELJIC about the various dynamics that will be motivating this intriguing work-in-progress... "What do we do with our most priceless cultural artefacts when they are placed at extreme risk due to war, invasion and possible plunder?" Artist-curators Bettina Hutschek and Raphael Vella will be representing Malta at the Venice Biennale