In a narrow street tucked away in the heart of Gozo's Rabat, is a small but enticing art gallery belonging to Charlotte Lombard, a French woman who created an exhibition space that embraces Fair Trade art, but not only.
In fact, currently showing at Lazuli Art is a photography exhibition by Parisian photographer Cyril Sancereau.
Sancereau, a professional architectural photographer currently based in Malta, spent the month of February in Gozo for an art residency, thanks to the financial support of the Ministry of Gozo and in collaboration with Lazuli Art Gallery. The experience resulted in this unique exhibition and other related activities.
"To be alone with nature is the ultimate inspiration for my artistic photography, since apart from architecture I am also fascinated by landscapes and territories. One can only discover these spaces by simply wandering. My mission for this project especially, was to capture aspects of the Gozitan natural terrain that will ultimately not be recognisable, in fact it is virtually impossible to identify the locations photographed. Even Gozitans who have come to view the exhibition have failed to locate the places. Because it is not about where the picture was taken, but about the details, the absolute abstraction of it. My lonely walks in the countryside verge on the spiritual - it is just me and nature - so that a place that enraptures me is mine alone."
Indeed his perception is that of a Frenchman on an island to discover it. Perhaps a Gozitan would never bother to look twice, just because what he sees is part of his or her everyday life.
Yet for Sancereau, some places are intriguing.
His photographs are rugged, vaguely wild, dry cliff faces, drenched foliage, windblown fields, lush vegetation; beached sand, rock formations... they could belong to anywhere and at times it is even hard to associate them with Gozo. He admits he likes the square form and the monochrome photograph, so his exhibits are rigorously in black and white and all in the same identically sized square format
The 12 exhibits are part of a much wider lot of photographs taken during this one month which Sancereau spent in Gozo. "I took well over 100 pictures in all, all snapped with a small digital Fujifilm camera, a conveniently lightweight companion, so ideal for this 'walking' project. I have several different cameras that I use for different purposes, but this one was just right for Gozo."
But how did this Parisian land on these islands? "I discovered Gozo some 12 years ago thanks to a friend whose family owned a home in Fontana - I had never even heard of the island before. I loved it so much there that every year, every summer, I would leave Paris and head for Gozo. I never even bothered touring Malta. Then one night we stopped in Valletta for a visit, and saw the Three Cities from the bastion walls. We rather liked the look of this part of the island so we decided to come and live here in Senglea. It is a happy in-between... not as cosmopolitan as Paris but not as quiet as Gozo."
The residence project was not just about the exhibition. Sancereau has been involved with the Gozo College Rabat Primary School where he held photography workshops with some 50 children from three Year 6 classes. The children went out on nature walks with him during which he explained some basic rules they had to adhere to before snapping away. "They chose the theme, the location in the landscape we were visiting, and then they were instructed to sit with their tablet and wait for the right moment to take pictures. Some got impatient and fidgety - it is not easy for a kid to sit still and observe for long, but all realised that this exercise was about discipline, patience and grabbing the moment. I tried to explain that photography is pretty much like fishing. You wait and hope to come away with a good picture. After the nature walks, we all got together to select the right pictures, based on the project's rules and then based on the children's own subjective preference. The selected images were then placed on a slideshow and shown at the school. I trust the children understood something more about the skill and art form of photography. For me, it was an entirely interesting experience."
GWL - Gozo Winter Landscape - Lazuli Art Gallery, 83 Palm Street, Gozo - open Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays 10am to 1pm - closes on 7 April - further information from Charlotte Lombard 9943 6443/[email protected]