Desire & Its Excess: Lawrence Buttigieg’s new solo exhibition

Lawrence Buttigieg’s latest exhibition at Spazju Kreattiv, Desire & Its Excess, offers a multi-layered investigation into the nature of desire and the forms of creativity it provokes. Through a diverse body of work that includes painting, assemblage, sculptural fragments and film, the artist reflects on how desire is produced through relationships with others, especially within the intimate and psychologically charged environment of the studio.

Central to Buttigieg’s practice is an ongoing engagement with representations of femininity. He has long been preoccupied with the dynamics between artist and model, and the ethical and emotional dimensions of that encounter. At the core of this exhibition lies a sustained collaboration with his long-term model, Cesca, whose presence has shaped his work for over a decade.

Working with the same subject over such an extended period has allowed Buttigieg to approach repetition not as stagnation but as transformation. Each meeting becomes an opportunity to perceive difference within familiarity, to rediscover the body through subtle shifts in gesture, expression and time. Rather than seeking variety through multiple sitters, his interest lies in uncovering countless variations within a single person.

The act of looking itself becomes a key theme throughout the exhibition. Buttigieg emphasises the reciprocity of the gaze between himself and his model, rejecting voyeurism in favour of mutual awareness and consent. In some works, mirrors are used not for self-reflection but to redirect attention back toward the artist, reinforcing the idea of a shared visual space that ultimately extends to the viewer.

Technically, Buttigieg’s paintings are characterised by translucent layers of oil applied over gesso or plaster, allowing earlier surfaces to remain visible. This method produces a sense of depth and luminosity, enhancing the physical presence of the figures while maintaining a tactile, almost fragile quality. The imagery is often explicit, yet rendered with a sensitivity that foregrounds vitality rather than idealisation.

Alongside the paintings are preparatory drawings and plaster casts taken directly from the body. These fragments challenge traditional ways in which female forms have been represented in Western art history. By presenting exact physical impressions rather than stylised interpretations, Buttigieg resists objectification and instead invites a reconsideration of how bodies are seen, preserved and interpreted.

Some of these casts are displayed independently, while others are incorporated into box assemblages filled with personal items and found materials. These works explore themes of identity, memory and alterity, suggesting that the body exists not only as physical matter but also as a site of meaning and belief.

Spirituality plays a subtle but significant role in Desire & Its Excess. Drawing on philosophical thought, particularly the writings of Luce Irigaray, Buttigieg engages with ideas that associate the feminine with transcendence and the sacred. His assemblages resemble reliquaries or devotional objects, echoing religious traditions in which bodily fragments are believed to carry traces of the soul. Although made from plaster, the casts often retain minute traces of the living body, blurring the line between representation and relic.

In recent years, Buttigieg has also expanded his practice into film, discovering strong parallels between cinematic composition and his visual work. The final room of the exhibition brings these elements together in a film that synthesises the conceptual and aesthetic concerns of the project. Set partly on the Maltese coastline and partly in the studio, the film follows Cesca as she performs acts of self-representation, including casting her own body and engaging directly with the assemblages, shifting agency away from the artist and toward the subject herself.

Ultimately, Desire & Its Excess positions desire as a fundamental yet elusive aspect of human experience. Buttigieg presents it as something that is never fully attainable, shaped by imagination, fantasy and difference. Through his layered visual language, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect not only on desire as depicted, but on their own forms of longing and projection.

Desire & Its Excess is curated by Gloria Lauri-Lucente. It runs till 1st March 2026.