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Malta’s age-old craft of filigree is slowly dying. In fact, the youngest filigree artist of the five (yes, five) still creating the silver pieces by hand is now in his early 40s. Even so, while the days seem to be numbered for the craft that can, locally, be traced back to the time of the Phoenicians, a movement aimed at preserving the skill and revolutionising its image is forming.
Among them is Eric, who, last July, teamed up with Kevin Attard (the aforementioned youngest filigree artist) to create a new series of wearable works that bring the art form into the 21st century.
“I am a complete novice when it comes to the production of jewellery,” he says as he shows me beautifully-crafted pieces to be exhibited at Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta, this Tuesday. “I am a total outsider. I know of no craft traditions or limitations.”
That proved to be a great way to tackle filigree, the craft of turning silver or gold wire into intricate objects. Eric’s background in art and in interior and furniture design had taught him enough to be able to design pieces but didn’t limit him to the designs or the mind-set of the filigree artists who often get tied down by the tradition that surrounds the craft.
Filigree is something usually depicted as quite delicate but it allows for the merging of the underlying ideas to be presented
“The idea came to me when I was looking online for a piece of body jewellery for my nose that was not too feminine but still quite ornate,” he recounts. “It ended up being problematic because everything had sparkly stones or was culturally appropriated to the extent that wearing it would be shameful.
“I started sketching my ideas but this outsider approach was not going to manifest itself into anything without an artisan. I then met Kevin and, thankfully, when I showed him a drawing with a few measurements of what I had in mind, he liked what he saw.”
Many sketches and alterations later, Eric and Kevin have come up with seven pendants that blend the masculine and feminine, as well as baroque ecclesiastical features with Maltese elements. The result is a stunning and surreal mixture of natural elements that brings l-għajn tal-luzzu, Xemx Wisq Sabiħa, widnet il-baħar’ and other aquatic-themed visuals and ideas to life through tongue-in-cheek designs that feel sacred. At first glance, you’d be forgiven to think they were ex-votos.
But more unorthodox than the design is the ultimate wearer in mind: men. The pendants – intricate and delicate at the same time – bring to Malta’s male fashion scene something never seen before.
“If our body is a temple, then it should be adorned,” Eric jokes. “On a more serious note, I wanted the end result to be a kind of self-adoration for men; after all, jewellery does precisely that for women.”
“Moreover, filigree is something usually depicted as quite delicate but it allows for the merging of the underlying ideas to be presented. That enabled us to go beyond the boxy and plain jewellery often marketed towards men and which has never appealed to me. I wanted to go for fluidity without making the pieces visually dainty.”
As Eric and Kevin move away from the discourse that surrounds filigree, which often leads many to assume that filigree is naff, mainly worn by women and specifically made for tourists, this exhibition is only the beginning. Indeed, the one-night-only, interactive exhibition, Selfmade, is being referred to as a ‘teaser of things to come’.
Selfmade takes place at Palazzo de La Salle, Republic Street, Valletta, on Tuesday between 6 and 10pm.