Take two very different artists, place their paintings in the same venue and prepare yourself to voice comparisons. This is what usually happens, but, since the works of the two artists I have to review are diametrically different, it is not particularly challenging to point out the differences, because these are obvious for all to see. Rather, the challenge is to find the similarities which, strangely enough, do, subtly, exist.

The paintings of Debbie Caruana Dingli and Tonio Mallia are being paired off and posted on the walls of the Embassy of Malta in the heart of Paris, where they plan to wow the Parisian crowds for three weeks at a stretch. These (the Parisian crowds) have already been introduced to other artists from the Islands - Mark Sagona, Kenneth Zammit Tabona and more recently, Celia Borg Cardona and Anna Galea. Whilst I shall not be travelling to Paris to view the works in situ, my viewing of the collection of works starts many days before their departure for the French capital, with a tête à tête in the quietness of each artist’s individual studio.

I start by viewing Caruana Dingli’s fun-loving paintings, harking back to her predilection of the cartoon as a tongue-in-cheek method of voicing her personal observations of society. The ‘funny’ images are grouped together under the unlikely title of ‘2012 - End of the World’. If you remember her famously popular ‘Games People Play’ scenario, then you can fully understand what these new paintings are all about. However, at a distance of some years, these paintings are not about games people play, but rather about games society plays, even whilst fretting over the scaremongering ultimatum of A.D. 2012.

“I wanted to poke fun at this ‘end of the world’ story circulating around this year, and I started out painting different works, to eventually come to the realisation that they generally seemed to have an environment-oriented slant. So for instance ‘The Water Table’ and ‘Plague of Politicians’ came to be. When I realised where I was heading, I stood back and took stock of it all. ‘End of the World’ as a title seemed to make fitting sense after all.”

She goes off at a tangent with her ‘In Search of Another Planet’ which is her last painting of the lot, still drying its oils on the easel as we talk. In the work, she couples her love of the comic with her penchant for collecting antique teacups, something quite quaint and staid from somebody such as Debbie. The detail she manages to grasp, teacups, saucers and all, is understandably, quite unusual within the realm of this genre of Caruana Dingli’s works. Looking closer at each painting shows how her work is not about being funny nor is it about poking fun at us all. Not anymore. It is rather about taking us all to task for what we do or don’t do about this whole endangered environment issue.

Moving on to view Tonio Mallia’s works, I come across a totally different scenario. Whilst Debbie was working in oils, Mallia was working in watercolours to produce detail within a bevy of landscapes constructed and executed ‘en plein air’. As is his usual, Mallia has made it a point to insist on keeping his paintings utterly rugged, whilst portraying his very evident adulation of varied aspects of Maltese nature, even in its softest guise. The paintings are, as is habitual for him, quite dark and sombre, intent on portraying characteristic drama that renders every scenario somewhat foreboding.

One of the more dramatic scenes is ‘Ancient Dwellings’ showing the series of ancient caves overlooking Mellieha – this is definitely not your sunshiny jolly souvenir scene, but a tempestuous grey sky and all. Yet for all the ‘dark’ looks in his watercolours, Tonio Mallia seems to be mellowing vaguely even whilst keeping his compositions dynamic and ever-challenging to the viewer. I am particularly excited about the ‘The Wave’ – where a boat and rough waters meet in a painting wherein the artist creates an epic scene of dangerous high seas. After all, a wave is not just a wave for this artist…rather, it is a study in philosophical existence.

I look out for similarities between Caruana Dingli’s and Mallia’s works – and I feel there could be several on varied fronts. Perhaps not complete similarities but rather platitudes of understanding such that, in tandem, these works all seek to meet the viewer halfway. These are not your average pretty pictures after all. Each artist wants us to look out for a deeper meaning within each individual work. Whether we recognise the intended meaning or not… that would be up to our (and the Parisians’) observational skills.

Debbie Caruana Dingli and Tonio Mallia exhibition of paintings - Surimpressions - Double Exposure - will be displayed at the Embassy of Malta , 23 Rue D’Artois, Paris, from February 23 until March 23.