Space on space.
The Space we Inhabit is the third exhibition to have been launched at MICAS – the Malta International Contemporary Art Space – which only opened its doors to the public late in October 2024. Curated by MICAS artistic director Edith Devaney, the exhibition features work by Caesar Attard, Vince Briffa, Austin Camilleri, Joyce Camilleri, Anton Grech and Pierre Portelli.
The title of the latest exhibition is admittedly intriguing – if only because ‘we’ are not merely inhabiting our space; rather, humankind seems intent on moulding, manipulating, and at times destroying and dominating, over the simple act of living or occupying a space through responsibility and respect. Nevertheless, there is a poignancy in utilising a space such as the Ospizio, to host an exhibition examining or commenting on space, through abstraction, interaction, liminality and playfulness, amongst others.
The manner in which space has been addressed in this exhibition, is far from perfunctory. Especially in the selection of paintings by Anton Grech, Vince Briffa and Joyce Camilleri: there is clear introspection; a shift from the outwards, in, where the viewer seemingly becomes participant into the landscapes and meanderings of the mind. In fact, the general absence of man (and man-made objects / structures, patterns) is glaringly obvious. Even nature is sparse. Instead, we are given an opportunity to escape our harsh realities through the immersion of created space. As Isamu Noguchi succinctly expressed: “We are a landscape of all we have seen”. And by extension, so is the art ‘we’ produce.
A description on the MICAS website reveals how exhibiting artists “have all adapted and developed work for this exhibition which will feature formal painting, sculpture, video and installation work.” Installations, sculptures, can generally be adapted to space, yet paintings tend to resist it. Paintings sit, and dialogue; the manner and sequence in which they are displayed, adds and alters dynamic and creates narrative. But the narrative I experienced was often garbled, lacking cohesion. Older works, produced in the 90s sat alongside paintings produced over the past few months. The style, aesthetic, but more so, the mood and temperament, speak different tongues.
The exhibition is ‘heavy’ on paintings. Most especially on the ground floor. Admittedly, it is an impressive spread to behold, albeit cramped. Soaking in the individual pieces was challenging: The size, vis-a-vis the proximity of the paintings by the three main artists whose works are displayed on the ground floor gallery (by Vince Briffa, Joyce Camilleri and Anton Grech), was somewhat problematic. Individual works, and the identities of artists, often blurred and overlapped – when what was required, was a little more space to breathe. I feel this would have aided the visitor to behold these ‘rich’ abstracted artworks possessing complex layers and textures. Moreover, there is no seat to reflect or meditate on the work – and this is the kind of work which deserves time; actually, it demands it. Irrespective of the angle from which I approached the work, my viewpoint was never clean; there was always more than one artist’s work simultaneously vying for my attention. Also, Austin Camilleri’s painting from 2010 ‘You used to be so definite’ (part of the Inverse Archaeology series), hangs solo, in complete disconnect with the rest of the works on the floor, and with the other works by the same artist in other spaces.
Space is not the setting in which things are arranged, but the means whereby the position of things becomes possible.” — Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception
With collective shows, dialogue is key, and for the most part, I think this was missing here, save for Level -1 where Austin Camilleri’s suspended piece beautifully ‘framed’ and created a gorgeously undulating ‘horizontal’ to the verticality of the hanging paintings by Anton Grech, Joyce Camilleri and Vince Briffa. Austin’s concrete ‘flying carpet’ also provided a strong and pertinent social comment, which hits home, unwaveringly.
The most problematic space, curatorially, was the Columned Gallery, located in a quasi-interim, mezzanine-like space adjacent to Level -1; it is enclosed, it feels transitory, and unlike the other spaces, the aesthetic was sparse, minimal even. Pierre Portelli’s work also deserved more prominence. With the exception of Austin Camilleri, Pierre was the only other artist whose work was spread across the three gallery floors. However, it hovered on the periphery, commanding secondary attention, when the very nature of his work demands interaction and direct engagement.
Sound is one of the more powerful of senses. Which is why this visual glutton was so taken by Pierre Portelli’s piece titled Choir (2025). Devised and presented in the semblance of a makeshift organ, Portelli utilises decommissioned brass artillery shells as receptacles through which motion sensor activated sound emerges. His musical choice: Henry Purcell’s Dido’s Lament, reimagined through AI generated voices. The effect / result: an immersive aural experience that transports the visitor into another dimension. A powerful piece that resonated and reverberated around the gargantuan space, exerting its place and presence in a manner that none of the static artworks could achieve.
Against the sound of the Choir, stand Caesar Attard’s imposing works, in stark contrast to most of the exhibited paintings with his strong focus on line and colour, together with his liminal approach to the subject of space which demands interpretation and, by the artist’s own admission, for viewers to become “participants in the scope of the artworks”. Attard’s work thus recalls the words of Lucio Fontana: “I do not want to make a painting; I want to open up space, create a new dimension, tie in the cosmos, as it endlessly expands beyond the confining plane of the picture.”
MICAS is an all-important space; it sits – somewhat uncomfortably – at the tail end of our national fine arts museum: MUŻA, and our national centre for creativity – Spazju Kreattiv. While fulfilling a need and filling a vacuum which had been long felt on the local art scene, it also enhanced the shortcomings of our infrastructure, most especially where modern art is concerned. The scope, the dimensions of the artworks exhibited in this show, cannot be ‘shifted’ or reinterpreted in any other formal art space. MICAS has provided opportunity but has also highlighted limitation.
The Space we Inhabit is a striking exhibition, which deserves more than one ‘reading’. And it comes at a time when there was a hunger being felt for quality artworks, and for the spotlight to be directed onto Maltese contemporary art practitioners. Each of the exhibited artworks can stand its ground in international shows or museums. However, it also points towards an imbalance in the representation of female artists. While Joyce Camilleri’s works sit beautifully alongside her male counterparts, her work nevertheless, sits alone. I can’t help but think that the work of the late Isabelle Borg, of Anna Grima or even Ruth Bianco could have provided wider interpretation and representation of the thematic under scrutiny. But that is a subject which deserves to be discussed separately.
In the meantime, I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next show to occupy my thoughts and senses.
Lisa Gwen
