Mario Abela - Dislocated Geographies
Mario’s art at first glance exudes masculinity. It is powerful, bold and expressive. If you know the man, you will say, “Ah yes, this is his work”.
The more you scrutinise it though, the more you realise how delicate its construction is. You notice the finesse of the lines, you recognise the variance of the tonal values.
These are compositions that are beautifully balanced; seemingly constructed with an ease and casualness that belie the thought and work that goes into them.
Entering the exhibition space we come face to face with his version of the cosmos. Beautiful awe inspiring sheets of old maps covered in charcoal vistas of the universe stacked on top of each other. Contemporary art does not get more sublime than this.
The maps are ubiquitous, but there are also newly conceived charcoal drawings, bits of vinyl and specks of pastels included in his compositions. Mario doesn't shy away from tearing up what to the layman’s eyes look like perfectly executed works of art in their own right to incorporate them into his collages.
There are familiar masterpieces that he re-produces with a few strokes and smudges of charcoal, revealing his superb draughtsmanship, changing their context and their expression.
And then there is the music. Each room has its own soundscape, derived from and complementing the pieces on the walls. I recommend you go and visit the exhibition at a quiet time so you can enjoy his music filling the space while contemplating the pieces in front of you or watch his video installations.
Mario tells us that these works are the outcome of his search for the meaning of our existence (if you want to know more see links below). The way he does this gives us some thought provoking and original contemporary art works.
Creating and showing contemporary art is always a bit precarious in a country that still feeds on the baroque splendour of its architecture and art. It is a difficult undertaking to make contemporary pieces palatable to generations that were brought up in houses adorned with the monochrome reproductions of Whistler’s Mother or prints of stern looking saints.
Well, maybe it is time to tell Whistler’s Mother to give up her chair for some dislocated geographies.
Mario’s exhibition can be viewed at Spazju Kreattiv - Saint James Cavalier in Valletta until 25th March
You can watch the artist talk about this exhibition in Maltese here
If you prefer English, do read this interview with Mario in The Sunday Times of Malta