An exhibition consisting of a 1,000 photographic images by Albert de Marco, one of the largest one-man exhibitions of its type in the world, was recently held at the Bay Street Complex in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s.
According to de Marco, the exhibition had three aims: to send a message to society in general, to inspire photographers and to act as the launch pad of the ADM Academy of Photographic Art. “I believe that there are 10 reasons to live and for each one there are 100 ideas to make these 10 reasons happen – hence 1,000,” he said.
De Marco wishes photographers to look beyond their known borders. In the late 1990s photography switched to the digital era and the public became more aware of the importance of photography in 2004 with the introduction of Facebook. A year later, photography became more accessible with the introduction of smart phone and the technological race became fiercer than ever.
He adds: “The professional photographic industry faced bigger challenges. Public awareness shot up, technology shot up and the photographer? What are all the world’s photography institutions doing to help photographers meet these changes?”
Since de Marco wishes Malta to have the world’s best photographic art academy, he is working on a pilot project with a number of his students to officially set up the ADM Academy of Photographic Art. All the proceeds from the exhibition will go towards this venture. The objective of the Academy will be to promote learning from the past and inspire for the future.
Albert de Marco, 51, was born in Floriana and has four sisters. Being the only boy, he was destined to follow his father Harry’s footsteps in the automobile mechanical world. However, he had a strong inclination to the arts. This comes as no surprise since his father’s hobbies were drawing and photography, and in addition he is related to the late great sculptor Antonio Sciortino.
Most of Albert’s free time was spent in dance classes but when he held his first camera, the rest became history. In a span of a few years he achieved the licentiate and became an associate of the Royal Photographic Society. He went on to win the International Master Photographer of the Year and became the first Maltese photographer to be accepted as a Fellow of the Master Photographers Association.
In between he achieved various international titles, exhibited both locally and internationally, and delivered numerous lectures. In 2000 he was one of the 60 Maltese artists to take part in a collective exhibition for the inauguration of St James Cavalier and in 2003 he exhibited with a number of photographers from the Federation of European Photographers.
A year later he received the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the creative photographic industry. He has had a number of solo exhibitions: 1996, Exposed; 1998, Missing Pieces and 2010, City Flowers.
Albert served for a short period of time as the Maltese Ambassador for the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and the Master Photographers Association (MPA). For 12 years, between 1991 and 2003, Albert was Enemalta’s official industrial photographer.
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