In the Land of Almost True is a collective exhibition that brings together a diverse group of artists whose practices explore storytelling through form, colour and material. They invite you into Art at The Seaside’s space in Senglea to experience the mystic, surreal, and fairytale-like quietly unfold.
First up, artist Saviour Baldacchino, whose style echoes the emotional rawness of Francis Bacon, offers a compelling series of mostly figurative paintings including a large depiction of the Last Supper. His approach with its gentle geometric surrealism straddles beauty and the grotesque, challenging viewers to confront deeper psychological spaces.
Alongside, Izzy Warrington presents two brand new pieces that conjure a delicate dreamworld intimate watercolours on circular paper, detailed with gold leaf, that shimmer with quiet symbolism. Expect big eyes and friendly characters that shimmer with the joy of childhood stories.
Equally appealing, Mariam De Girorio introduces a series of mixed media collages, layered and whimsical yet poignant, that reinterpret the world through a fairytale lens. Her works – including a quirky pipe-smoking rabbit (or is he a hare?) beside a ringing phone – invite us to question where fantasy ends and reality begins. And which is the life we’d most like to lead?
The collection also includes several sculptural works that are abstract in form yet rich in suggestion by ceramic artists Jennifer Mallia and Deborah Marmara. Their pieces encourage personal interpretation, allowing each viewer to project their own lived experience onto the art. Mallia’s innovative approach to form and technique has resulted in a sculptural work that incorporates dozens of long strips of clear glass beneath sturdy striated ceramic pieces. These are a lime-white, perhaps a wave or the organic curves of bark, whilst Deborah Marmara’s ceramic work contrasts rich volcanic reds and an ashy turquoise to striking effect. Blocky structures stand like a scattering of small buildings and evoke, perhaps, ecological concerns or ideas of environmental devastation.
Together, these artists craft a narrative that is not quite fantasy, not quite truth- but something enchantingly in between. It’s up to you to build the story!
In The Land of Almost True opens on April 25 and runs until May 8 at Art at the Seaside
