‘Consume’, an exhibition by Victor Agius
Consume is an exhibition by Victor Agius currently on show at the upper galleries of Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta until 11 June.
The works vary from sculptures in ceramics, mixed media and objects trouvé, works in video and sound and also documentation of an accidental fire that happened during the process of a large sculpture and of a short-lived public art intervention that the artist had at Pjazza Teatru Rjal in 2015 named Kapitell.
The exhibited artworks speak about how through time, human intervention and displacement; matter, objects and quotidian artefacts experience transformation. Sculptures and objects bear traces and remnants that illustrate a patina of time while narrating absence and an intriguing account of lost memories.
This project traces Victor Agius’ ongoing research and preoccupation on the way matter is taken and shaped by man from nature and modelled to suit his daily rituals. The ensemble of objects and interventions include video works, objects, sculptural installations and diverse forms of documentation of a recent public artwork in Malta.
Curator Dr Biolchini states that: “the core of the project resides precisely in the dichotomy between the Eternal and Universal passage of time and the Human consumption of matter and earth, calculated in our earth time. Through this confrontation the artist is willing to suggest us the ephemerality of today’s consumption of soil and goods, suggesting a new spiritual (and not necessarily religious) life behind things.”
The artist collaborated with the Civil Protection of Gozo while he intervened with fire and water on two pieces of old furniture that are exhibited in the main hall of the exhibition. In his introduction in the catalogue Prof. Briffa wrote: “In pure Dantesque fashion, the artist voluntarily repeats the ritual of passing through the fires of Hell selected pieces of furniture, and in a redemptory version of the pilgrim’s walk, he abruptly rescues the half-scarred items from their imposed holocaust to exhibit them standing proud in their half-maimed state. Together with the fragments of the ornate Baroque balcony that lines the gallery’s perimeter, these fitments scream the silence of the atrocities of devastation.”
On Saturday, 20 May an art talk was organised between curator Dr Irene Biolchini, Prof. Vince Briffa, Victor Agius and Nero at Spazju Kreattiv during the launch of the exhibition catalogue, with photography by Daniel Cilia and Elisa Von Brockdorff.
Today at 8pm an event named Consume – An Immersive Sound Performance will be performed by sound artist Renzo Spiteri at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta. Spiteri stated that Victor Agius’ works had a profound impact on him and he experienced an immediate emotional encounter with the exhibits, inducing him to develop, in a very short span of time, the concept of Consume – An Immersive Sound Performance. Entry to the event is free of charge, but is limited to 30 people on a first-come, first-served basis. To attend, please send an email to Gaby Giacchino on contact@musiconnectmalta.com
Consume is on at Spazju Kreattiv, within St James Cavalier in Valletta, every day until Sunday, 11 June. The Consume project forms part of the Spazju Kreattiv Programme and VIVA 2017.