The artist brings to the island of Gozo, in Malta, the fifth edition of his proposal ‘Ambito’, with which he is touring the world
The magic of the megalithic temples of Ġgantija, declared of universal interest by UNESCO, thrilled the artists and personalities who attended the new edition of ‘Ámbito’ that the creator Cristóbal Gabarrón (1945, Mula) displayed on the island this Sunday Maltese of Gozo, in the middle of the Mediterranean.
The Ġgantija Archaeological Park on the outskirts of the city of Xagħra became a space for experimentation and reflection on the safeguarding, preservation, revitalization and enhancement of heritage, shedding light on the creative link between culture, art and innovation with heritage as a dynamic and cohesive force that unites them all.
The artistic meeting was held from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in front of the main wall of the impressive megalithic complex of Ġgantija, which was erected in three stages over several hundred years (c.3600-3200 BC) by the community of farmers and herders who inhabited the small island of Gozo in the center of the Mediterranean. Life rituals and seasonal cycles seem to have been practiced within these enclosures, while sophisticated architectural achievements reveal that something truly remarkable was taking place on the Maltese islands over five thousand years ago.
There, under the brand new Mediterranean sun, Gabarrón gathered around him nine artists, most of them Maltese and exponents of different artistic disciplines, with the aim of valuing the importance of the historical-artistic heritage, which more than ever needs the attention of our society and that is essential to understand where we come from and where we are going.
The work was baptized with the name ‘Landscapes. Footprints and times’. «Landscapes, due to the multiple scenarios that can be seen from this special geographical point. Footprints, those left by man, in this case for more than five thousand years. Time, out of respect for time, first that of Mother Nature, then that of the people who erected these marvelous constructions, and now ours, the contemporary that we enjoy and with which we compare ourselves. Everything has worked well, the artists have interacted, I discover new landscapes and I realize that I need time, a lot of time, my mind needs time to process, to think and keep my mind very open”, said Gabarrón at the end of his work.
The artistic meeting, organized by Heritage Malta, Spazju Kreattiv and the Gabarrón Foundation, began with the words of Russell Muscat, general director of international relations for Heritage Malta, the main public entity responsible for national heritage in Malta: «Ġgantija occupies a special place in the collective memory of many people and has different meanings for all those who in one way or another passed through or came into contact with this space…. It is an architectural gem and a testament to sophistication, especially considering that it was built over 5,000 years ago. The material evidence found at this site and in the adjacent areas is testimony to the inhabitants and their practices. The more we study and research these people, the more we understand how close they were to our contemporary everyday lives. The need to represent the different members of the community and their animals », he indicated.
Next, Gabarrón began to sketch his first strokes in green, while the poet and writer Francesco Grech read an unpublished poem, composed as of this Sunday, with all the meaning that he needed to communicate to the rest of the artists and attendees, a part in Maltese and the other in English, which spoke of the beauty of these landscapes, as well as his need to know what happened in Ġgantija, what these ancestors of his wanted to pass on to us, but above all, he went on to an essay on the responsibility of the current generations, about what we are going to leave our generation and those to come, talking about that imprint that is so important and enigmatic.
The improvised music of the electronic creator Charlon Calleja continued, who harmoniously dialogued with the monument and with Gabarrón, who continued to capture the architectural plan of the temples on that 3 x 9 meter canvas, until the violinist Pierre Louis Attard of the Gozo Visual and Performing Arts School, raised its sophisticated and beautiful contemporary discourse.
A great surprise for the audience was when, suddenly, the avant-garde dance of Julia Lundberg conquered the spaces of the canvas proposing a ground-breaking proposal, through 5 stones that she moved, wrapped with her body and carried from one end of the stage to the other. integrated into the landscape of the archaeological park.
A performative performance by Jonathan Orchard could not be missing, dressed as a harlequin and made up as an ancestral character, he sang, danced and masterfully expressed “his fears about the lightness of a part of our society, which did not know where it was going to take us” , as commented by the writer Albert Marshall of the Arts Council Malta.
Maribel Bajada’s contemporary dance represented magical beings such as fairies and deities who were the protagonists of the ceremonies developed for thousands of years in Ġgantija. All this was collected by the cameras of the Lithuanian Karolis Vitonis and the Spanish Jordi Serqueda.
This fifth edition of Ámbito, held in the city of Xagħra on the island of Gozo, was curated by Rupert Cefai, president of Fondazzjoni Kreattività, who expressed his satisfaction and joy “for the powerful momentum that has taken place, for the dialogue between all the participating artists and for pure and free creation in a natural setting of enormous historical-artistic wealth».
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