Photographers are predominantly the curious breed of artist. They observe people and their behaviour. They observe the environment that surrounds them. They study the fall of light and the shadow such fall creates. Photographers are explorers by trade as they interpret the mundane that surrounds us. They process their observations to freeze a moment in time to eventually gift us with the yields of their efforts ‒ the elusive photographic prints.

Wabi Sabi (Japanese ‒ acceptance of transience and imperfection) is the debut solo-exhibition by Sasha Vella. She is one of a growing number of artists embracing analogue film to produce photographs. In part, this interest reflects a reversal of the massive shifts brought about by the advent of the digi­tal camera and camera-phone, which together rendered the earlier and traditional photographic methods increasingly obsolete in everyday life.

Sasha Vella

This resurgence of the use of analogue film among photographers of all ages is driven by the mystique surrounding its use. Gone is the instantaneity of the process. Sasha has also taken this approach one step further as she captures her images on film that has way exceeded its ‘best-by’ date, with all the resulting little quirks, play, light streaks, imperfections, and flaws. In the process, Sasha has developed a tolerance for uncertainty.

The unpredictable nature of expired film makes it an exciting medium to explore due to the inherent element of chance attributable to the unknown storage conditions the same film has been kept in over the years. The passage of time also degrades the emulsion layers of the same film, thus impacting its quality and characteristics, resulting in unpredictable colour casts, graininess, stains, and a certain misty quality.

Mġarr ix-Xini I

Captured during the past four years, this body of photographic prints delves into the visual interpretation of decay, transience and imperfection while embracing the reality that all surrounding beauty is pre-ordained to eventually fade away. Asked about her choice of exhibition subject, Sasha admitted that “I always find myself documenting what strikes me. However, I am very aware of the fragility of life. There is also the ephemeral contemplation in the process of fading away, as this may lead to the creation of beauty thus morphing into a new essence,” she continues.

Sasha seeks out changing landscapes, indirectly prioritising the desolate, and generally builds her visual narrative by providing timely reflection that there is beauty in imperfection and the unconventional

It is this fascination to interpret decay as beautiful that has driven Sasha to create this exhibition in partnership with 35mm expired film. She has taken a leap into the unknown to co-create beauty in decadence since the negative film used to capture her images is also in a state of decay. In fact, some of the photographs exhibited were captured on film that had expired over 40 years prior.

The Grandeur of Softness

In her work, Sasha documents the natural elements where erosion, change and the passage of time have taken their toll in her search for beauty in decay. Examples of such work included Seceda I and II and The Grandeur of Softness, all captured in colour. Other work also features the human form. Two prints, titled Mġarr Ix-Xini I and II, featuring the female form, demand attention and a closer look. Shot in black and white and printed on fine-art paper, they were then mounted on aluminium DiBond. As one stands in front of these prints, one can feel the mood and emotions of the photographer who created them.

Mel Erixon from Art Sweven commented: “Curating such a themed and rather unusual photo-exhibition has been both rewarding and challenging. Sasha seeks out changing landscapes, indirectly prioritising the desolate, and generally builds her visual narrative by providing timely reflection that there is beauty in imperfection and the unconventional. We just have to look out for it and embrace it.”

Mġarr ix-Xini II

Seceda II

The exhibition is hosted at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq, a boutique gallery found on the first floor of the iconic New Life Bar, one of the very few surviving traditional tea-rooms located in the quaint village of Mqabba next to the parish church.

The exhibition is open till August 15. Opening hours can be found on the Facebook page Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq. Sasha Vella (b. 2000) graduated in 2021 with a BFA (Hons) from the University of Malta’s Digi­tal Arts Department. As an artist, she is largely interested in projects investigating the human impact on the environment, as well as playing with the interconnectivity between nature and humans.