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Graffiti, illustration and armed lemurs…Teodor Reljic talks to James Micallef Grimaud, Steve Scicluna and Chris Jensen whose work, along with Maria Kotzur’s, will be shown at Joseph’s Bar at the Danish Village, Mellieha – in an exhibition simply entitled ‘Boq’
Meet Steve Scicluna by the hill leading to San Gwann centre and he goes into a pizzeria to get a Kinnie. He does some design work (on the way, he complains about corporate demands), but his passion is Street Art, Punk, Psychedelia…”I used to be into graffiti as well and I was hoping to encourage people to do something different on the island. But then I sort of gave up after I saw there was no real interest…” He leads me to James Micallef Grimaud’s abode. Predictably, the small flat is cluttered with paintings, art supplies, ethnic decorations and by the entrance there is a row of little green skateboards sliced in half, with what looks like a portrait of Audrey Hepburn sprayed over in black.
Once inside, I also meet the Danish Chris Jensen, who used to live in Malta permanently but is now based in London. He’s back here on holiday, and together with Steve, James and his girlfriend Maria Kotzur is taking part in ‘Boq’ – a joint exhibition at Joseph’s Bar, at the Danish Village, Mellieha. It opened last Thursday (August 24), and is set to run till mid-September. I meet them a week before the exhibit. James brings me a glass of water; Steve’s paunch is very visible as he’s slumped on the sofa, the tall Chris next to him, limbs jutting out.
While all three have strong views on the art scene in Malta, Chris is the most vocal. “I remember some arts competition I entered a couple of years ago, I think the brief was something like ‘Paint your true self.’ Most of the entries had all this cliché titles like ‘Serenity’, ‘Effervescence’ and ‘Tranquillity.’ Mine was called ‘The Day When Animals Carry Guns’ – it was a picture of a lemur hanging from a tree, with a gun in its hand. Everyone smiled at the other paintings, going ‘that’s nice…’, but when they passed by mine – which was tucked away in a corner – they at least laughed, at least there was some sort of reaction. The judges were all these old farts and I think that’s the main problem – we have the wrong people in charge of these associations. I think that if you’re presumptuous enough to claim what art is and what it’s not, you shouldn’t be in the business. There’s this ‘I’ve seen it before, so it’s art’ attitude, and people keep painting landscapes and boats because it’s marketable – something even I was reduced to, which is one of the reasons I left the island. For example, for the Gozo festival, why doesn’t someone paint like a chicken with it’s head cut off, blood squirting out…I’d buy that, I’d say ‘this guy kicks ass.’ But people seem to be too afraid, they’re worried about being shocking or something…”
Steve: “I think the root of the problem is art education. Students just see art as a free lesson, there’s no initiative. Though art is academically marginalised in general, overseas you see kids painting murals and so on…they’re encouraged to be creative and get messed up.”
A sense of subculture camaraderie emanates from their work even though they’re quite different stylistically. Skateboarding, in particular, is a great source of inspiration. Chris used to be president of Malta Skaters United and James is still involved in the association. “Skateboarding is a form of art in itself. With Skaters United, we organised events to help promote the artform,” says James. “It’s important to reach the government, the mayors, because they have the final say, obviously. Urban art is slowly getting wider recognition here because the higher-ups have realised that it’s fashionable, it helps their gross-domestic-whatever,” he laughs, a big grin stretching from ear to ear. “Some of the most talented people I’ve met are skaters,” says Chris. “There’s a whole ‘cinematography’ to the subculture – in its design, its fashion.” A renowned figure from the skating world- one that Chris admires - is Spike Jonze, famous for his Fatboy Slim music videos as well as cult-favourite films like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.
Steve, however, curtly points out that he is “not a skater.”
All three of them are hitting a different nerve. James’ work hinges on a mixture of the figurative and the abstract; Steve has more of an urban sensibility while Chris’ niche seems to be illustration and animation. There’s no clear dividing line though, which is why the exhibition’s title is apt. “[The exhibition] will definitely be strange,” says Chris. “We’re so far removed from your typical fruit bowl, landscape art and I’m hoping we’ll get some sort of reaction from people. There’s no street art, graffiti art, not even pop-art and illustration around here and we kind of do all these things. People seem to have some sort of illusion that things will be done for them, but if your art isn’t supported by the higher-ups, you just have to get out there and do it yourself.”
The rest nod in approval.
“DIY…”
That wasn’t Audrey Hepburn, by the way.
www.creativeurope.com/stevescicluna
www.jamesmg.com/
www.sketchychris.com/
www.myspace.com/amanha
http://www.maltaskatersunited.org/
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