There is nothing ghostly about an exciting new exhibition called “Phantoms”, running at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa, says Sandra Aquilina. Rather, the exhibition brings together reality and imagination in elusive and fascinating ways

As he sits before me, speaking enthusiastically about the various facets of his new exhibition, Christopher Ebejer is younger, and more intense, than I expected. At only 27 years of age, in fact, he has already graduated in film directing from the New York Film Academy in Universal Studios at Los Angeles as well as in classical and contemporary interior design from Sheffield School of interior design of New York. One of his creations in bronze also stands permanently in the world’s largest artistic park in Changchung City, China.

And in 2003, Chris single-handedly designed and built a five-foot Trojan horse for USA Cable Network, arm of Universal Studios, which was filming the two-part Helen of Troy in Malta.

Now, the artist, originally from Qrendi, is immersed in his latest exhibition, entitled Phantoms. These, however, are not the ghostly and ephemeral renditions of popular tradition, but beautifully-modelled sculptures in gilded materials. From the draped golden robes of the Phantom of the Opera to a phantom violin player executed in shades of red to a cloaked figure who seems to be transported by the sway of an imaginary music, these remarkable sculptures are solid and yet ephemeral, physical yet unreal.

“I am fascinated by epic stories – by past periods,” says their creator. “Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera has influenced various filmmakers, set designers and artists and the fascination of its visual aspect has left an influence on my subconscious. I gave it my interpretation and linked it with an air of theatrical elegance.”

Chris, in fact, was fascinated by the idea of the space occupied by a phantom. “These sculptures are works in which viewers will not see a body – but only the surface of a body. I wanted to direct viewers to what I wish them to see,” he says.

Swayed by an imaginary music, the 12 phantom sculptures, all in painted ceramics and incorporating a variety of mixed media – including partially gilded metal to obtain an effect of elegance and richness – inhabit the piano nobile of the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa. This venue was carefully selected by the artist because of its resonance with the theme of his exhibition.

“The Inquisitor’s Palace is a mysterious place, it is almost like an enchanted palace; I like its sense of mystery and enigma so I chose it to be the venue for my exhibition. The piano nobile, then, is a stage is in itself. My works are painted sculptures – amalgamating the two forms of art in a polychrome – and the final result is theatrical.”

The exhibition, coordinated by Lawrence Coleiro, also includes some drawings by the artist in the same style which, together with the sculptures, were executed over the past year. It also includes a 20-minute DVD documentary which will be running in a room adjacent to the exhibition and which will feature the creative process, from the initial idea to the final product.

Directed by the artist himself and edited by Marlon Caruana, the documentary is an artistic product in itself, says Chris, since it also makes artistic links with Malta’s sculptural heritage, including the grotesque masks and faces which often adorn balconies in the Valletta and Cottonera areas.

Phantoms marks a new departure for Chris; it is more openly creative and imaginative than his previous exhibitions, although it is also linked to these through the romantic aspect which permeates his style. “Even here the romantic force is at work,” he says with his trademark intensity.

Care has also been taken for the exhibition dates to span the Carnival period in Malta. This, of course, is not incidental as the exhibition’s theatrical flavour lends itself well to the elegance associated with the Venetian Carnival. In fact there are various similarities between Vittoriosa and Venice, says the artist; both are maritime cities, with Vittoriosa’s waterfront reminiscent of the city-by-the-water appeal of Venice. Music from the Rondo Veneziano will also accompany viewers throughout the exhibition.

Although Chris is probably most well-known in Malta for his contribution to film sets and for his previous exhibitions, he is also one of the leading members of Gruppo 21+, an international group of artists. He has also lived in China, the UK and Italy, where he worked at the De Medici family. Prince Lorenzo De Medici, in fact, for whom the artist executed a bust and other private works, inaugurated the exhibition last week.

His bronze sculpture, Mechanical Spring, which stands permanently in the world’s largest artistic park in China, depicts the classical figure of a woman, representing spring, who is looking sadly at the world’s disasters. This contemporary use of sculpture is very different from the romantic and elegant forms of Phantoms, I point out. With which of these forms does he feel more at ease?

“I consider myself an eclectic artist,” replies the serious young man earnestly. “I like to present various faces of art but it is elegance in my works which I feel flows strongest from me. Although it may also convey a message, I think art should please the senses. In the times we live in, elegance and what is pleasing to the eye is often lacking, and the elegance which is often associated with the past, remains valid for me today.”

And there is a hunger for this type of art which gives pleasure to the soul and to the senses, he says. “When I exhibited my work in Mdina last October, over 2,500 people visited my exhibition in 17 days; this shows me that people still look for works which gives pleasure to their soul and to their senses, like music,” he says.

“I create what I enjoy,” says the young artist. “The sculptures flowed out from within me – like music. I did not have the fortune to study music – so maybe it is through sculpture that music flows out of me,” he says.

In fact, he listens to classical and baroque music while he works. “Baroque music is lively, joyous, energetic, forceful, transporting… It captures you to the extent that you sing to it and you become part of the sound which surrounds you…”

Being an artist is, in fact, a way of life, says Chris and does not just have to do with creative works. As a Maltese artist, he finds that it is often necessary to battle a mentality which regards artists as part-time or hobbyist.

Besides Phantoms, at the moment, he is also engaged with creating two public monuments, one in bronze in Floriana in honour of Pietro Paolo Floriani and the other in Qrendi, dedicated to Life and Youth, in memory of the five young men who lost their lives in a traffic accident in 2005. With the latter monument, he is also responsible for the landscaping of the surrounding environment.

He is critical of several of the urban constructions and public monuments in Malta. “The aesthetics of architecture since the last World War have been almost brutal,” he says. “The Maltese seem to have the wrong terminology of ‘modern’: it does not mean filling up everywhere with aluminium and ugly buildings. Much of the architecture in Europe and Asia is designed to please the senses and to respect the surroundings.”

Meanwhile in Malta there seems to be little understanding and respect for the proportions and materials used in the construction of several of the monuments in, for instance, our roundabouts.

“I create the works of art which I would like to see myself,” says Chris, paraphrasing American director Steven Spielberg with whom, he says, he feels an affinity. “You feel that there is something missing which you would like to see and so you create it yourself.

Then, when other people like it too, and want to have it in their homes as part of their lives, there is a special pride in that, which gives me the strength to look ahead and keep going.”

Phantoms, an exhibition of polychrome sculptures by Christopher Ebejer, will run at the upper halls of the Inquisitor's Palace in Vittoriosa until 28 February. The event is sponsored by The Federation of European Carnival Cities, The Ministry for Tourism and Culture, Heritage Malta, Corinthia San Gorg Hotel, Marsovin, and DJS Trading LTD.