The latest solo exhibition of Alfie Gatt is currently being held at il-Kamra ta' Fuq. The title is Ghost Stories but expect no spine-chilling anecdotes.
Me and Alfie have been discussing his exhibition at il-Kamra ta' Fuq for over one-and-a-half years. He was one of the first artists who had approached us to exhibit at our little space, and finally here we are. We have spent long hours discussing what theme and style his exhibition should focus on.
The style was an easy and obvious decision for what I wished to see in our collaborative project. I had seen one particular artwork from his past works which was totally different than the works that Alfie normally promotes. It is a small portrait of his beautiful wife Valerie, executed in oils in a very realistic yet painterly way. It has something which reminded me of one of my very favourite artists, Nick Alm. After pointing this out to him, I realized that Alfie is also a big fan of Alm as well.
The theme was more difficult to establish, but life has its own ways of producing answers. Coincidentally, both me and Alfie decided to quit our full-time jobs around a year ago, to focus more on art curation for me and art for him. We both passed through a strange period of severe procrastination - the serious kind that only an "unfriendly punch in the stomach" can get you out of it.
This 'mood' immediately started developing into a theme in Alfie's imagination. The empty feeling of just existing and watching your life passing by while you're chained in an imaginary prison was the basis for the Ghost Stories.
The ghost is a metaphor for a person experiencing procrastination. The narrative takes us through a day in the life of this White Lady, who is stuck in this infinite loop of postponements, in this isolation, in the numbness to everything that is happening outside one's mind, to becoming a ghost, to existing but not living, in a personal purgatory.
There is no beginning and no ending to the narrative of these fragmented episodes that the artist shares through each artwork. One is only left with questions, and it is all up to the individual's interpretation. The scenes are all happening in the familiar interior of a Maltese house with the arloġġ tal-lira, the typical intricate Maltese patterned tiles and the typical balavostri staircase.
Then we have the unexpected intruding birds which are reminiscent of a personal event experienced by the artist, which affected him a lot.
One fine morning when the artist was passing through this phase, he noticed a dead bird in his yard. He couldn't gather the strength and the will to remove it, and the carcass was left there for days, becoming an inspiration and a memento mori for some of the works and a wake-up call in making the artist realise that he was passing through this strange period in his life.
The artwork Intruders is perhaps the most surreal work in the oeuvre. We are in a fancy living room, adorned with the patterned tiles, the typical Maltese clock, which is showing no particular time, as time doesn't matter anymore- we had an interesting conversation at the New Life Bar in Mqabba, about what time should the clock be displaying, and I think Alfie took the best decision in the end. The room is taken over by a flock of birds, caught in a snippet just before they start creating havoc. But our white lady is immune to all this commotion, because she's locked within herself and the living room is just an alternative parallel space somewhere far away.
Another strong work is Memento Mori, where we see the famous dead bird portrayed in all its mortal glory and here is taking over the starring role of the typical skull and the typical fly so traditionally found in memento mori paintings where the viewer is constantly reminded of the imminence of death.
Our main character in most of the paintings is the beautiful lady in white (again the muse is Valerie), wearing the same dress throughout all the artworks, which hints at the state of one being trapped. The space is the interior of a house, which is also mirrored in the number of snail shells featured in some of the works. The snail which never leaves its house and the empty shells which become an echo to how one feels when one stops living but just existing.
We rarely see her face. There is no eye contact. There is no invitation to enter her space. There is no inclination of her wanting to join the real world. There is a clear line between the observers and the observed.
There are three works which show the lady in white lying on the floor and one of them, Fallen Angel, is tying the works to the birds, where we see a few delicate birds' feathers "snowing" down on the woman, in a deafening silence, taking forever to reach the ground.
The attention to detail is really thorough - maybe this comes from the fact that Alfie is also a graphic designer and has a vast experience in filming and video editing. The compositions and setup are the product of long preparation, in choosing venues, furnishings, flooring, lighting, the palette and the use of space. All was strategically used to build a compelling plot. Alfie wanted to create snippets within a movie where the tale has no beginning or ending, to emphasise the constant loop.
The artworks making up the oeuvre for this exhibition are executed in watercolours and oils. But there is also a play on the framing of some of the works. Glass plays an important role in certain works. Alfie created a series of mesmerizing miniature works of birds and shells executed in oil on glass which also come with a little hanging chain, and which suggest little cages made of glass - cages that don't seem to exist at first glance, but unfortunately, they do exist in one's mind. (Oh no, you won't find images of these works with this article, so dear reader, you must come and visit the exhibition).
The exhibition Ghost Stories is the third solo for Alfie. He participated in numerous collectives and his works can be found in private collections both locally and abroad.
The exhibition is curated by yours truly and will be on until 12 March at il-Kamra ta' Fuq in Mqabba