ARTISTS’ STATEMENT

The unforeseeable events of 2020 led artists Burlὸ and Lydia Cecil to a flat in Xaghra. Here they set up a studio overlooking Marsalforn valley that gradually turned greener as autumn moved to winter. Hiding away from Malta and London respectfully, the works they produced were directly inspired by the island of Gozo. Like many during the pandemic, home became their workplace. For Burlὸ and Lydia, 64a Flat 1 became the site that collated their separate and complimentary interpretations of Gozo.

Prior to the pandemic, Lydia’s figurative oil painting took her from London to Florence to Samoa, where she painted on location and from life. Deprived of life models to work from in 2020, Lydia turned to photography to get her figurative references. This opened new opportunities for capturing people in candid, unscripted moments. Taking a vast assortment of spontaneous imagery back to 64a Flat 1, Lydia painted sensitive portrayals of Gozitans from the viewpoint of the unseen observer.

Swapping the pen and ink of his political cartoons for brush and oils, Burlò’s new body of work still retains his brand of social commentary born from his lived experiences on the island of Gozo.

His still-lifes celebrate locally sourced produce, while his landscapes depict the diminishing beauty of Marsalforn Valley and Gozo as a whole.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

LYDIA CECIL. After graduating in History from the University of Edinburgh, Lydia Cecil trained at the London Atelier of Representational Art, and then tutored there prior to the Covid pandemic. She has been an Artist in Residence for the New Generation Festival and for the Tiapapata Art Centre, and now is a contributing tutor to Raw Umber Studios. Her work explores human nature and its representation.

SEB TANTI BURLÒ is a political cartoonist and artist, published weekly in The Times Malta. Graduated in Architecture + Urban Studies from the University of Westminster (London), his work combines current affairs, art, writing and a splash of ink to create a socio-commenatry of today’s times.

DATES AND CONTACT

From 1 October to 31 October 2021

Marta Obiols Fornell at arthallgozo@gmail.com or 77051564.

Opening hours: From Wednesday to Saturday from 10-13 and 17-19; Sunday from 10-12.

Visit: arthallgozo.com or https://www.facebook.com/ArtHallGozo

*The exhibition will open on Friday 1st October from 10 till 13 and 17 till 19. No vernissage. For private viewings send us a message.