It's finally here.  Dave Calleja's most awaited debut solo art exhibition, titled PARADOXUM, will be hosted at il-Kamra ta' Fuq, from the 8 till the 31 March.  The metal sculptor is presenting a series of life-size masks, each portraying an array of personas, all united by the overarching theme of the paradox, inherent in masks.

I have known Dave and his better half Karen, for the last couple of years, regulars at the New Life Bar and il-Kamra ta' Fuq and part of the inner sanctum of my gang. We have been contemplating and discussing the concept of this exhibition for over a year, and this notion has been evolving into the body of work making up this exhibition.  

Early works by Calleja show the strong influence of the Surrealist movement, especially works by Salvador Dali, Dave's top favourite artist of all time.  This can be seen mostly in his series of large metal sculptures showing surreal animals, large bodies supported by extremely long matchstick-like legs, mimicking an imminent fall, all reminiscent of Dali's Space Elephant, and other creatures from his paintings like The Temptation of Saint Anthony. 

During the same period, Calleja began exploring metal masks, delving into experiments with materials and textures, which unbeknownst to him, were a prelude to what was to be the central theme of his first solo exhibition. 

Masks have a long history, and I'll just mention a couple of the perhaps most popular examples. In Greek drama, the actors wore exaggerated masks to show the characters they were playing and hide their true faces.  During Carnival, we hide our true selves and become someone else entirely.  No matter the situation, the main aspect of masks remains almost always the same - to hide something while at the same time revealing another.  A paradox, as aptly described by Joanna Scott: "Masks are wonderfully paradoxical in this way: while they may hide the physical reality, they can show us how a person wants to be seen."  And that's how the exhibition title was born. 

Calleja was always intrigued by the Japanese saying "We have three faces. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends and your family. The third face, you never show anyone."

From what can be perceived as an existentialist point of view, Friedrich Nietzsche argued that one is constantly swapping masks we disguise ourselves with, to constantly try to find one's true face but in reality, our true face doesn't exist, and that a person always has a combination of virtues.  Calleja chose to explore the concept of masks through various states of mind.  The same person can temporarily change, and one's moods and temperaments can change, but we still keep the same features.  This is highly emphasized in his decision to use the same 'base' for the face in his masks and add 'props' to show the different moods.

These black and very dark brown masks are executed in an incredibly dark shiny glaze, the bases, showing no facial features, almost like faceless mannequins, are composed of metal strips, immaculately welded and fused, forming a flawless mask.  The only other colour allowed within the series is gold, which features in some of the added 'props' to these otherwise solemn masks. 

Let's start with the hero artwork, chosen for the poster and other promotional materials, and drum roll..., the artwork is called Diva.  I think this one is the artist's favourite.  The faceless mask is adorned with a series of curls and a golden halo of rays, jutting out in different sizes, all reminiscent of a Louis XIV's wig, le Roi Soleil, flamboyant, intense, and emanating an aura of 'larger than life'.  The mask titled Saint, is similar to Diva in its golden halo of rays, but yet so different.  The mood is totally different.  We see humbleness in this saint, perhaps a life lived in a restrained way, and only after, one is rewarded with sainthood, marked by the golden halo.  

As always, it's time to tell you about my favourite.  It was love at first sight.  It's the first artwork born from the series and the title is Opium.  The faceless mask has 8 flowers jutting from it, with long straight stems.  A very surreal piece, which gives a sense of losing oneself in a dream, where everything is possible, and one feels a great sense of freedom.  Another work is also showing metal flowers covering the upper part of the head.  In Flower Child, the flowers are restrained to the head, almost like a scarf made of flowers. 

Another interesting comparison between two of these works is between Thinker and Dreamer.  In Thinker, we have a series of gears starting from the forehead intertwining together and going upwards and upwards, towards a goal.  While in Dreamer, we have a number of gears, all with the gearing teeth pointing inwards, instead of outwards, thus disallowing any possibility of interaction between the gears, and the dreams will remain just dreams. 

Another one which I feel is very important to the artist is This will be the day I die.  While discussing this particular artwork, he mentioned a quote by Virginia Woolf: "How many times have people used a pen or paintbrush because they couldn't pull the trigger?" The mask has an actual bullet stuck to the forehead. Perhaps this work is an homage to art and literature and how beneficial they both are in enabling frustration to be expressed.

Another strong work is Affliction which shows many nails of different kinds and lengths, all hammered into the upper part of the mask.  The crown of thorns transformed into the crown of nails.  A sort of dark and raw version of Hellraiser. 

It's impossible to mention all the works, but I must mention another of my very favourites.  In the photos, it looks great, but holding it in my hands made my heart skip a beat.  Not just because it is really heavy, but because it is absolutely stunning.  Seeker portrays our faceless mask with two large wings, meticulously built, metal 'feather' by metal 'feather'.  A symbol of seeking what one wants, of freedom.  It's a must-see. 

And lastly, I must mention the only mask which is totally different from the others.  Self is showing the true self, and it is the only one where facial features are present.  This takes us back to the Japanese saying mentioned earlier, that each of us has one mask - the third one - that we keep to ourselves. 

 

The exhibition PARADOXUM is curated by Melanie Erixon and for more info, visit il-Kamra ta' Fuq on social media. 

 

Photos: Andrew E Zarb.