Marie Benoît interviews the ever versatile artist, Damian Ebejer, in connection with his first solo exhibition in Gozo which opens on 29th April
Damian Ebejer paints, presenting his friends on Facebook, from time to time, with one of his creations. But he has also done excellent work which he cannot really display on Facebook: the restoration of three ceilings and staircase at Palazzo Marina for example, all with Baroque and neo-classical Italian motifs. He has also redecorated the private chapel and altar with Rococo insert painting at Casa Navarra in Wardija. Then there was the design and painting of the ceiling of the chapel at Casa Rocca Piccola in Valletta. He has also left his mark in a parish hall at Rabat in Gozo as well as Palazzo Falson in Mdina, Palazzo Olivier in Balzan, Palazzo Parisio in Valletta. This is going to turn into a boring list so I shall leave it at that. Damian certainly keeps himself busy. He has been particularly so this year.There was his participating in the Mediterranean Peace Donkeys event in February - his donkey was called Boxxla; in the same month an exhibition of his father Francis' and his own visual artistic work took place at St James Cavalier; also in February he participated with four of his works in the International Art Collective III at the Meridien in St Julian's. And this month it is a solo exhibition, his 12th.
His art is varied and although mostly abstract he does not stick to one particular style. He seems to pour his soul into his creations. What exactly does art mean to him? Damian comments: "I am in my studio almost every day which helps me stay focused on what I'm working on. I usually have more than one painting going at the same time although I admit some are worked on more than others. What I create becomes a very central part of my life at that moment." He says that when he looks back at what he's done he can see the different phases which his art went through. "I always try to keep one or two of the works from that particular period. There was always satisfaction at every stop but I always knew that I would move on to different ways of expressing myself. Even now, as I prepare for my twelfth solo exhibition which will take place in Gozo, I have three or four ideas racing around in my head. In a way it's as if I challenge myself, without putting the pressure on. I cannot force things to happen. I don't visualize the painting before I start. These past few years my work seems to be momentary glimpses of something or somewhere inside me which I know little about. It's like a constant discovery of myself. It is the place I go to. Not easy to explain, really, but something leads me on even if I am not sure what."
Damian adds that at this period of his career he is not terribly interested in portraying the reality he sees outside of himself, although even this may change. "A year ago I didn't foresee what I am painting today; so in the future, who knows what I will be painting... Today my art is mainly abstract and it searches for a collective beauty, entangled with the ugly and chaotic, in order to compose a subconscious recognition of fascinating order. Having said that I don't consider myself an abstract artist. I think of myself as a man who paints paintings; I dislike putting myself in a category. I suppose this reflects how much freedom means to me. In a way I'm the proverbial rolling stone."
He believes that what makes his work really worthwhile is that inexplicable feeling he gets when a painting starts taking over. "I do not remain in control, it controls me. Time becomes non existent, place irrelevant. The painting and I become two souls merging into a tiny star in the immense universe. At that moment nothing matters anymore...it is a strange and wonderful feeling! After a while however, I regain ownership when I see what is evolving and rein in the painting to its conclusion; very much like breaking a horse, but in this case, leaving the painting's spirit intact. That's the tricky bit; knowing when the painting is finished."
Does he think his parents - his writer father, Francis Ebejer and his British born mother whom he barely knew, a pianist who died at the age of 24, influenced him at all. "Both my parents were creative people and I'm sure this must have contributed to what I do in my life. How much influence this was on my work I really cannot say. I have four children and none of them seem remotely interested in creating, although I can see the possibility of a writer in one of them. Maybe my father and I have suffocated them with too much creativity... or the notion of many solitary hours has put them off. As for myself, my work is self empowering because I never know enough and I learn something about my approach to art every day, even though I still find it difficult to talk about my work."
I asked Damian to tell us something about the forthcoming exhibition in Gozo. What kind of work will he be exhibiting? "In my Edge of Distance exhibition which opens on the 29th April at il-Hagar - Heart of Gozo, my curator Joe Philippe Abela and I have chosen twelve paintings I produced between 2014 and 2016. These vary from abstract to abstract expressionism, surreal and organic art. I have also touched upon 'colour field' art in a few paintings. Some of them have been seen along the way on social media but have never been hung for public viewing except four of them which I presented during the Ebejer Research Project I worked on at the Spazju Kreattiv, St James Cavalier in February together with Toni Sant, Louis Lagana, Sabrina Calleja Jackson and Joe Julian Farrugia. One of those was also exhibited at the Belgravia Gallery in London. I think the main thread between them all is that they are less flamboyant than previous works in so far as colour is concerned; however they all carry their own individual message which is something I always seem to come up with."
The psychologist Laner Cassar gave Damian an appraisal of some of the works in the forthcoming exhibition. He wrote thus of Final Heartbeat pictured here: "'Final Heartbeat' evokes contrasting vibes of stillness and movement, stasis and vigorous emotion. In the right of the painting there is very little happening and as it moves to the left vertical black and reddish lines divide the painting unequally giving in to more movement with dripping white lines with different density. The brownish/greyish shades of the background evoke a sense of void and emptiness while to the left there is attempt at some movement. The enveloping coldness of the greyish right contrasts with the slightly warmer tannish left. Despite the dividing lines the colour on one side seeps through and merges the two opposing sides together. The work also evokes a different sensation of time - a warm before and a cold after."
Another interesting facet during the Edge of Distance exhibition is a 'mini-expo' in a separate room where Damian will display seven large works themed on St Teresa of Avila's mystic writings in her book Interior Castle. Damian explains: "This masterpiece of spiritual literature is also known as The Mansions or The Seven Mansions, hence the set of seven works. Each painting is a personal interpretation of each Mansion. I painted them on free hanging canvases, without stretching them, to give a tapestry-like feel to them. The fact that they will hang in their own space adds to the theme."
When he is not painting how does he spend his time? "I do what most other people do I guess; tackle life, errands, watch a film, read something, computer, go to some event and now that summer's here, since daylight remains longer, I'll spend the early mornings at the beach , most probably thinking about what I'll be painting and just let my subconscious do its work. I believe the ground work and preparation for my painting is done in my mind, without me even noticing..."
Damian Ebejer's solo exhibition Edge of Distance exhibition opens on 29th April and will remain open until 29th May at ll-Hagar - Heart of Gozo museum, St George's Square, Rabat, Gozo.