The title of the exhibition is taken from Italo Calvino’s novel Le citta’ invisibili, Serracino explains, a book which he turns to often and describes as ‘highly evocative and mysterious’.
“The city does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the bannisters of the steps …. “
Italo Calvino
Rather than paint Valletta, Serracino’s works focuses on the Three Cities (Cottonera). “Nowadays, it is common to think of the Three Cities as a coastal suburb of Valletta, so easily accessible by ferry,” he says. But for Serracino, they remain distinct.
“As Calvino’s cities are all Venice in some way or another, my cities are always the Cottonera, where I was born and bred, grew and aged, married and fathered, and where I will likely die.”
Some scenes evoke contemporary life in the cities; others evoke past times, particularly the period when the Grand Harbour was the hub of the British fleet. Some paintings have been painted using old photographs as references.
“This is a challenging exercise artistically, because you need to create colour from black and white, or monochrome, originals,” Serracino explains.
“My main desire is to understand and communicate the fascinating and diverse environment that surrounds us in Cottonera,” he continues. “When you look closely you start to realize that even the most commonplace wall or corner has its unique charm and beauty, or ugliness if you will. Perhaps that explains the broad range of subjects, from a pigeon drinking from a dirty water puddle in Bormla, to big church facades or mighty domes, to towering British warships darkening the sky above the Grand Harbour.”
“There is a lot of mystery in the streets, staircases and alleys of Cottonera, best appreciated after sundown in cold weather. But this show is taking place at the peak of summer, and many of the paintings will evoke the bright and boisterous life in Cottonera during the summer season, both past and present.”
“The mood of the paintings therefore varies considerably but predominantly Cities & Memoriesis introspective, vital, and slightly dark,” he continues. “As a young man I was often held to be a pessimist, and a rather moody guy. I have never quite been able to shed off that characteristic, no matter how much I tried. And that does come out in my paintings. I am a reserved and quiet person by nature, but artistically I feel best when I embrace spontaneity. However this is not possible when you are doing watercolour, which demands at the very least a degree of planning and self-control. That is possibly why I have embraced watercolour and have done nothing else but watercolour the last three years of my life (apart from the rare occasion when paternal responsibility requires of me to paint in acrylics as happened two days ago when I had to paint an alien creature on my young daughter’s t-shirt!)
“For me, watercolour provides the potentially perfect marriage between spontaneity and discipline.”
Cities and Memories by Karm Serracino runs until July 18 at Art by the Seaside in Senglea