Next Saturday, 4 August the French Ambassador, Jean-Marc Rives, will introduce French contemporary artist Raphael Labro to the public. Labro’s exhibition of paintings Rebirth, inspired by the Neolithic temples and their goddesses, will be exhibited at the Sinclair Stevenson Gallery in Gozo.

Raphael Labro was born in Nice (France) in 1956 and at the very young age of 16 had already secured a place at the Fine Arts University of Nice, where he studied Fine Arts and Graphic Design. Before establishing photography as his preferred art form, Labro worked as a set decorator with Paloma Picasso and other renowned French theatre and film

directors.

Through his innovative and experimental artistic approach Labro earned global recognition for his photographic design work for numerous international magazines and fashion designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Yamamoto Kansai and many others.

Raphael Labro has lived and worked all over the world: France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and South Africa served as home at one time or other and he held exhibitions of his artistic creations in most of the places he lived in. In 2003 Labro and his family settled in Gozo after falling in love with the island during three previous vacations spent there.

The core of his art has always been his fascination with the creation of the earth, and with ancient civilisations that roamed our planet tens of thousands of years ago and which possessed considerably more intelligence than they are given credit for by today’s society.

Ten years ago he started transcribing his creative work into different art forms. Having worked as a photographer for over 20 years, how did the switch to painting come about? “Well, I love painting! To be a painter actually was my biggest dream since I was a kid. But I never had the time for it!” Then his two younger children were born, and he “decided to stop all those kinds of business, so that I could be next to my children” – finally finding the leisure time he needed to paint.

“And then I arrived here and discovered all these temples,” he smiles, still looking a little in awe, “and something started to drive me to take the brush and just go for it!” The inspiration he drew from Hagar Qim and Ggantija and their goddesses led to the creation of striking surreal paintings, decidedly favouring the feminine symbol, which he depicts in strong colours with generous use of red and gold. Labro sees himself walking in the footsteps of post-impressionist French painter Paul Gauguin whose art and vision he admires. “I am seeing myself following up on Gauguin’s work,” he explains.

Rebirth signifies the return of Mother Earth from her highly civilised culture to our own. With vibrant colours Labro sets out to lead us onto an exciting journey into the past, urging us to take notice of our islands’ ancient civilisations – which, he says, existed far earlier than historians want us to believe: “Did you know that these temples are not only perfectly aligned with the sun and the moon, but also with the Pleiadian’s constellation?” The fact that it takes the sun 26,000 years to orbit around Alcyone was proof that our neolithic temples are some 20,000 years older than admitted to to-date.”

Part of the exhibition’s proceeds will go to The Friends of the Sick and the Elderly in Gozo, to buy a pulse oxymeter for the paediatric ward at the Gozo Hospital. It is an instrument that measures the oxygen level in the blood through the skin, which is mainly used in the care of acutely ill babies and children. Labro’s motivation for contributing to local charities is his heartfelt wish to give back to the people in Gozo what they have been giving him, in terms of hospitality and generosity.

Another project fervently supported by Raphael Labro is the Tree 4 Gharb campaign, which will also benefit from funds raised. “There is only one thing that I miss here in Gozo and that is trees,” he says. “It is very important to create the right environment for our children!” He is hoping to raise enough funds to sponsor at least one tree for every child at Gharb Primary School.

The Rebirth exhibition at Sinclair Stevenson Gallery, 59 Trux Street, Gharb, Gozo is open to the public from 5 August until 4 September.

During the first opening week Raphael Labro will be attending daily from 11am to 12.30pm. For further private viewings call the gallery on tel. no. 2156 2074.

Raphael Labro’s website: www.raphaellabro.com