Tactile – 12 Concealed Sculptures was an international arts project that, under the aegis of V18, brought together a number of local and foreign artists in an unorthodox milieu. The contemporary Maltese artist Jesmond Vassallo had been working on the concept for over a year, developing it and striving hard to make it happen.
The exhibition catalogue was intentionally published months after the actual exhibition that had spanned the whole of October of last year. The curator undertook a great effort to ensure that no hint as to the nature of the exhibited works would be leaked. This would have given the game away and defeated the scope of the whole project.
The sense of sight is the one that is usually associated with the perception and the aesthetic evaluation of a piece of art, be it a painting, a sculpture, a photograph or an installation. The 20th century has brought about a change in this reasoning; some modern and contemporary artists insist on an alternative and more holistic assessment of a piece via the use of the other four senses thereby increasing the immediacy and veracity of the aesthetic experience. The artwork thus enters into the realm of the everyday, governed by all of the senses. All five are used while at work, rest and play and they complement each other and ‘humanise’ our activity.
It follows that an artwork should not be excluded from the process of being experienced and being assimilated just as much as any other thing under the sun.
Categorising art in the traditional way defeats the purpose of what art is all about – an extension and fine-tuning of a sensitive human being’s personality and making tangible the emotions. Tangibility implies a use of all the senses. Tactility implies only one sense, that of touch.
The onus of the discovery of the total identity of each individual artwork was to fall on the exhibition catalogue and nothing else
How does one behave as soon as one enters a gallery, a museum or an art space? How is one expected to react upon entering this well-defined space, all lit up and no stone having been left unturned by the vigilant curator in getting the established heights right during the hang?
Is the space sufficient for a sculpture to be perceived from all angles possible?
All this was of no consequence and did not go in the organisation of the Tactile – 12 Concealed Sculptures exhibition. Other criteria had to be considered that enhanced the unorthodox experience.
The exhibiting space was in pitch darkness and the obligatory blindfolds accentuated it. One had to follow the advice of the exhibition assistants and follow a set protocol that included vocal prompts. These were set off automatically as one touched the base of each individual sculpture.
Tactile – 12 Concealed Sculptures did away with any preconceptions as being temporarily visually impaired eliminated all bias towards any of the exhibiting artists.
The 12 sculptures, the works of the Maltese artists Raymond Azzopardi, the late Joseph Chetcuti, Jonathan Galea, Noel Galea Bason, Paul Scerri, Jesmond Vassallo and John Vassallo, the French artist Claire Fontana, the Italian artist Adriano Ciarla and the Japanese artists Kunie Fujiyoshi, Shunji Omura and Takashi Yukawa, received a universally ‘democratic’ attention.
The sculptures partially revealed themselves as they were touched. However, the lack of light shrouded their real identity as the aesthetic evaluation of each individual piece rested on the ability of 10 fingers to assess the texture, the temperature, the contours of each work.
Quoting from the essay that art historian Giulia Privitelli wrote for the exhibition publication: “It is possibly why, in our most disoriented state, all other non-visual senses are heightened. We are alert, attentive, open to anything… .”
The exhibition catalogue is to be considered as the final chapter of a project that necessitated a visual statement to bring everything full circle. By purchasing the Tactile – 12 Concealed Sculptures official catalogue, the numerous exhibition visitors can satisfy their curiosity as now that all 12 sculptures have been revealed. The catalogue is an essential epilogue to the whole project and furnishes information on the underlying concept as well as information on the 12 exhibiting artists.
Contributions by the spokespersons of the organisations that represent the visually impaired document their first-hand experiences of this unique exhibition.
The taunting composite photograph that accompanies this article is in the same spirit of the exhibition. From the outset of the project, the onus of the discovery of the total identity of each individual artwork was to fall on the exhibition catalogue and nothing else.
Oscar Wilde insisted that “the public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything”. In the case of Tactile – 12 Concealed Sculptures, one has to go the extra mile and purchase the exhibition catalogue to quench the thirst.
Those interested in purchasing the catalogue are to access the link http://tactileproject.com/
