How did you get involved with Diplomazija astuta?

The project's co-curator Jeffrey Uslip and I live in Bellport, New York, which is on the South Fork of Long Island by the sea. About three years ago, Jeffrey and I were walking to the Marina. Jeffrey was talking about the blind spots in the humanist project. How humankind arrived at this moment in history. When we got to the sea, he mentioned the biblical trope of fire falling from the sky. I immediately saw his point.  I've worked in the contemporary art world for over twenty years and was keen on the work of Arcangelo Sassolino, one of the three artists involved with the project, for quite a while. When Jeffrey Uslip and Keith Sciberras invited me to join the team soon thereafter, I happily accepted the opportunity.

Your colleague and collaborator, Jeffrey Uslip, has previously commented that the vision of The Something Machine helped propel this project. Given that you are one of the directors of The Something Machine, could you elaborate on that statement and on what The Something Machine is?

The Something Machine is the name of our "field office," which is also located in Bellport.
The Something Machine is physically located inside in a working gas station, in a building that was formerly used as an autobody shop. It is a...filling station.
We define ourselves as a creative hub for aesthetic radicality. "Vision" is an accurate term because there are many visions, projects, aesthetics debates being propelled from The Something Machine. It is a creative think tank and hub. It is a laboratory for ideas and possibilities.

Can you break down what aesthetic radicality means?

The status quo is never good enough. We define representation in terms of visibility and strive to make visible aesthetic points of view that may otherwise be unseen.

Can you break down your role of project manager in relation to Diplomazija astuta?

The beauty and the challenge of the job is that every project is different. What makes it so interesting is that I am always working with a different artist, on a different project and as a result the challenges that need to be met are also always different.

Certain elements of my work will always be the same such as, understanding the artistic process and following whatever direction the process goes. My job is not like building a house, where there is a set structure. You are working on projects which are constantly evolving, often in unexpected directions. To be a project manager, in this case, is understanding artistic processes while remaining a steadfastly pragmatic individual who will proverbially, bring the ship to port.

How have you found working on Diplomazija astuta while being based in New York?

I have worked for various international galleries and artist studios and art non-profits and there was always involved with a group of international artists. In fact, if I think of it, I have never worked on a local project with a solely local team. I was always surrounded by people from all over the world, working on projects all over the world. I think that the geographic distance is not that important when a team works as closely together and is in constant communication as we are with Diplomazija astuta. That's the beauty and the challenge of this job, to be a part of a process with people based in different places. It was a privilege and a unique and enriching opportunity to work in this project with the Maltese artist Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci and the Maltese composer Brian Schembri and to learn more about their art and their process.

This is not the first biennale project you have worked on. You were a team member of Christoph Schlingensief's first exhibition project at the Venice Biennale. How did you find that experience?

Yes, the first project at the Venice Biennale I worked on was with Christoph Schlingensief, a German artist who passed away in 2010: he was a filmmaker, a theatre and opera director, a performance artist and an activist. In 2003 Schlingensief was invited by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Molly Nesbitt and Rirkit Tirvanija to present his project, Church of Fear, in the context of Utopia Station that was shown at the very end of the Arsenale. Christoph Schlingensief staged there the first iteration of the Church of Fear: he built a small Church, but he also organized an actual pole sitting contest with seven contestants that took place at the entrance of the Giardini during the official opening days of the Biennale. It was a wild and enriching experience and an honour to help bring this immensely important work into the world. In 2003 the project was received with what could be described as an embarrassed silence. However, come 2011, Christoph Schlingensief's Church of Fear was shown in the German Pavilion, and won the Golden Lion.

How does it feel like to be back now with, Diplomazija astuta?

I still feel it is such an honour to be working at the Venice Biennale. It is the most prestigious platform because you get to give a work you believe in the best exposure possible to propel it forward.

Given that you work primarily in contemporary art how have you found tackling a project so closely linked to Caravaggio?

I studied Art History, so I was lucky enough to go through the entire range of Art History. Obviously, I was aware of Caravaggio's work but I learnt so much more while working on this project. Between looking into Maltese history to working with the other co-curator Keith Sciberras, who is a world-renowned scholar on this subject. It has been a lovely experience to dive deep into Caravaggio's works and as well as reflecting on the significance of the works today.

Even though the project retains a certain universality it is of course the Malta Pavilion and at its core is inspired by some distinctly Maltese cultural factors. What did your previous relationship to Malta look like before getting involved with Diplomazija astuta?

I actually travelled to Malta with my parents when I was a child but I was unfortunately too young to have a clear concise memory of it. Although I do remember it being a magical place with beautiful light and a landscape that, coming from Switzerland, was the opposite of what I was used to. I was always aware of the very important geopolitical space Malta held in the world. But this is the beauty of working with an international team because it gives you the opportunity to learn so much more than I could have ever imagined.

How do you hope the audience engages with the project?

The work is so deeply immersive that there is no way out for the visitor other than to engage with the work. What makes the project so interesting is that it works on so many levels. It is intellectual, art historically anchored but ultimately completely new and inherently visceral. We are confronting the audience with the question, what has happened to humanity? Our hope is that people do not just question what has already happened but ask themselves how to best move forward. As we said several times throughout the project, there is hope and maybe in the future we can be better versions of ourselves. Let's see if that's still possible.

The curatorial team for the Malta Pavilion comprises of curators Keith Sciberras and Jeffrey Uslip, kinetic artist Arcangelo Sassolino, theoretic artist Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, musician and composer Brian Schembri and lastly, project managers Nikki Petroni and Esther Flury. 

The curatorial project Diplomazija astuta will represent Malta at the 2022's Biennale di Venezia international art exhibition. The Venice Biennale will be open to the public from 23 April 2022 to 27 November 2022. The Malta Pavilion is commissioned by Arts Council Malta, under the auspices of the Ministry of National Heritage, The Arts and Local Government.

Photo Credit: Ira Lippke Studios