Aboriginal roots exhibition

Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, a versatile artist who for the past few years has become fascinated with Australian Aboriginal art, is exhibiting his contemporary works of paintings and ceramics entitled My Aboriginal Roots and Dreamings in the Cottoner Hall of the Mediterrean Conference Centre, Valletta.

The exhibition runs from Saturday to November 7 and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Having been immersed in iconic and Western art for several years, and following an exhibition of his works at the Maltese High Commission in Canberra in 2001, Mr Schembri Bonaci soon began investigating links between his iconic art and Aboriginal art.

He experienced an affinity with Aboriginal art through the spiritual significance of colour, composition, technique and the symbolism of imagery. To further his knowledge, Mr Schembri Bonaci spent months living in the Aboriginal community of Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

This community lies at the foot of the famous Arnhem Land escarpment, a series of rocky ranges riddled with rock shelters and caves within which lie thousands of ancient rock art sites dating back 50,000 years. This ancient rock art predates very much the megalithic prehistoric cave art of Altamira (Spain), Lascaux (France) and the Maltese megalithic culture. Mr Schembri Bonaci identified this study as another important source of art inspiration and technique.

The exhibition consists of paintings and ceramic works. It has been made possible through the support of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, the Bank of Valletta, PEG Publications and Potterware.

The respect with which Mr Schembri Bonaci's talents were regarded by the artistic community of Gunbalanya earned him another invitation to return and specifically to conduct workshops on the techniques of painting with which the Aboriginal artists could also appreciate an affinity. Both forms of art, icon painting and traditional bark painting, are based in pre-Renaissance painting developed before the intervention of Western renditions of perceived reality.

Apart from being a painter of modern art, and an icon and fresco painter, Mr Schembri Bonaci has also extensive experience as a theatre director and set designer in a number of countries. After completing his art studies in Milan, he studied art in Moscow under V. Moroz and also icon art under H.N. Ovchinnikov. He has exhibited his artistic works in Malta, Australia, Italy, France, Germany and Russia.