Joint exhibition at Gozo’s Arthall explores awakening and awareness

Cockadoodledoo is a new collective exhibition at Arthall, Victoria, in which four artists investigate the different ways the rooster crows. In doing so, they hope to awaken us to what’s happening in the world around us – the complexities, pain, suffering and joys of life.

The exhibition was inspired in part by the story of Zarathustra, as told by 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his influential work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Zarathustra was an ancient Persian prophet who lived somewhere between 1500 and 600BC and founded Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s earliest monotheistic religions.

He taught that the universe is a struggle between truth and falsehood, emphasising moral choice, personal responsibility and ethical living, and his teachings deeply influenced later religious and philosophical traditions, including ideas about heaven, hell, judgement and the battle between good and evil.

Curator Marta Obiols Fornell explains how, in the translation by Walter Kaufmann, Zarathustra jumped up from a resting place in a cave and caused various many to flee by roaring in a terrible voice “Up, abysmal thought, out of my depth! I am your cock and dawn, sleepy worm. Up! Up! My voice shall yet crow you awake!”

“At dawn, especially in Gozo, we can still hear ‘cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo’,” she continues.

“However, this exhibition is not to praise the goods of the rural life. It is about the mystery of living and dying, and our own response to life. We are becoming accustomed to our souls being asleep, so we’re asking, can they still be awakened? Or are our lives all ‘scroll and swipe’ so we don’t ever wake up? Is this ‘zombie’ state becoming our way of navigating life?”

We are becoming accustomed to our souls being asleep… can they be awakened?– Curator Marta Obiols Fornell

“Although Cockadoodledoo was not originally connected to Lent, as in Nietzsche’s writings, there are a lot of biblical references. The rooster theme fits with Jesus’s time in the wilderness as he resists the devil’s temptations, and so this is an invitation to cross the desert ourselves and confront the main temptation of our time – giving up our consciousness and individuality in a ‘digital age’ that offers us efficiency, entertainment and a smart ready-made brain. Are we, like Peter, in constant denial of what’s profound and requires bravery, thought, silence and solitude? Cockadoodledoo represents an awakening call.”

The core of this show is a collection of 25 new mixed media paintings by Slovenian artist Anze Gallus Petelin whose work is on show in Malta for the first time. Arranged in a thoughtful 5×5 composition, in each he uses the bold silhouette of a rooster incorporating occasional references to Gozo and Malta.

The rooster is a staple motif in his artist practice, an ongoing visual exploration in which the bird functions as a carrier of meanings, symbols and transformation over time.

“I have carried the rooster within me since birth,” Anze explains. “My surname, Petelin, literally means rooster, so it was only a matter of time before he would crow on my canvases.”

Slovenian artist Anze Gallus Petelin

“Beyond this personal connection, the rooster is a powerful and universal symbol in cultures around the world. It represents new beginnings, rebirth and renewal. In that sense, I see the rooster as a necessary messenger – a figure that calls for awareness and presence in an increasingly chaotic world.”

In contrast to Petelin’s loud, rousing and provocative works, four minimalist pieces by Swedish artist Johannes Gustafsson tell their stories quietly in calming white. Gustafsson is also exhibiting for the first time in Malta and chooses to present his characters alone, without distractions. His frames appears empty on first view, but on closer inspection they contain tiny figures.

Decompress (detail), by Johannes Gustafsson

“Relate this to yourself,” he explains. “If you are close to your true self, you will see yourself (the people) and your life (the box), but if you move too far away from your true self you will get lost (the people disappear) but you will still have your structure in life (the box).”

“The boxes are also very tall in comparison to the tiny figures. This is because you always need enough space above your head for your dream to fly free. The moment you start to compress that space, you are out on thin ice.”

Also participating in the show, resident artist Tomas Hed presents several works, including Complicado in which the rooster is ‘played’ by a scrawny red-headed lady in a black suit.

“She is calling ‘her’ girl to go back to her pimp: there is no space for love when you have sold your life for money,” Obiols Fornell explains. “Perhaps it will be the wake-up call she needs.”

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Heiko Joerges

The exhibition also includes two works by Malta-based German sculptor Heiko Joerges, whose intriguing mixed media works reflect daily and commonplace impressions and street life.

His wall-mounted For Whom the Bell Tolls incorporates both wired earbuds and a vintage edition Ernest Hemingway novel, which itself explores themes of war, death and love and humanity.

“In his sculpture, there is a reconnection with a book, with a story, with other people’s lives… and with your own imagination. It’s showing that you can hear the bells again announcing something, not far from you, connected to you… because the bells toll for you too,” Obiols Fornell adds. “Are you ready to hear them?”

Cockadoodledoo runs until March 8 at Arthall, 8, Triq Agius de Soldanis, Victoria, Gozo.