Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/855205
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 JULY 2017 41 This Week "MY life as a painter began when I was 28 years old, after I picked up watercolouring during a trip to Crete and Greece. Before that – during my teens – I had taken my first steps into the visual arts world with photography, which remains one of my passions to this day. But what really took my life by storm, so to speak, was coming to Gozo in 1978. Then and there, I made a decision: I will live on this island one day. And in 1992, when I wanted a break from my life, I de- cided to give up my 'Wine-Gallery' in Berlin (wine and art are always a great combination). Twenty five years since, the break is still going on... "So yes, of course I found Gozo to be inspiring for my artistic practice. In fact, I developed a new artistic path ever since arriving on the island – my paintings became more and more abstract. And larger. The colours I chose just got bolder and stronger. And instead of mixing them on a palette, I built dozens of thin layers on top of each other to maintain a form of transparency on the canvas. "My studio space in Gozo – the Farmhouse Gallery in Zebbug – where I work and exhibit, encom- passes the entire farmhouse: out- side, inside, the courtyard and the garden. It's a 350-year-old house and has, in my eyes, a real charis- matic energy. I feel at home here, and my soul does too. In fact, I open it up to the public during the weekends, and neighbours, tour- ists, art-lovers and friends all meet up there for a glass of wine. It cer- tainly helps me to feel as though I belong here... "Meanwhile, for this current ex- hibition at the Cavalieri Art Hotel, I will be showcasing works from the last two years. After selecting the works and framing them, I stepped back to take a better look. I had a glass in my hand, took a sip and a deep breath and said, "That was a nice journey. Let's go again." The abstract works of Joerg Boettcher will remain on display at the Cavalieri Art Hotel, St Julian's until August 9 Skinks are stocky, short-limbed lizards, with over a thousand species known to exist. In Malta we only have one species: the ocellated skink (M: xaħmet l-art). Most Maltese know of its existence but sadly that knowledge is all too often tainted with prejudice. For some obscure reason many people consider skinks slimy and disgusting, maybe because of the shiny skin (which shines because it's clean – duh!); the lardy reference in the Maltese name doesn't help either! The skink's tiny legs aren't much use for walking, so the animal often moves in winding fashion. This manner of locomotion reminds people of snakes, ergo the skink is surely dangerous, ergo it must die – moronic 'logic' that is all too commonplace. Of course, as with all our other reptiles, there's nothing to fear from skinks. Unless we're ants, snails, beetles, spiders or other creepy crawlies that skinks consider delicacies. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon 568. OCELLATED SKINK GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 471: Act Now! – http://www.foemalta.org/pd Protecting Europe's nature is not only about special sites and targeted species. We must also restore nature beyond those confines, ensuring that habitats are better connected, and that the wider landscape is managed with nature in mind. Ultimately our food and farming system needs a radical overhaul towards an ecological and fair agriculture that protects wildlife and natural resources, supports resilient, sustainable family farms, and reduces our impact on developing countries – by promoting low-intensity, diverse agro-ecological farming. The EU must use the opportunity of the mid-term review of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to move away from incentivising industrialised and intensive farming practices, towards one that supports rather than undermines full implementation of the Nature Directives and sustainable farming and food production. In this way the objectives of the nature laws can be mainstreamed throughout all policies. The EU should fundamentally reform farming policies to end harmful industrial practices, whilst substantially increasing the role of agroecology and ensuring EU nature laws are 10 actions for a biodiverse Europe Gozo is good for the soul Take action to make farming more sustainable With an exhibition of paintings currently on display at the Cavalieri Art Hotel, the German-born but Gozo-based artist Joerg Boettcher speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about how Gozo continues to influence his work Nr 5 Redwave by Joerg Boettcher Joerg Boettcher