A solo show by artist SVETISLAV MARTINOVIC is on at Christine X Art Gallery until March 28. The Sliema venue has been representing the artist in Malta for about a decade. Christine Xuereb Seidu met with him to find out more about his latest body of work.

When did this project start and what is it all about?

I started preparing the work for this show about seven months ago, but really, I remember painting an I Can’t Breathe painting about five years ago when the George Floyd incident happened, leading to the Black Lives Matter campaign. It is now many years later and I still keep returning to this theme.

What was once a slogan associated with Black Lives Matter has now become more metaphorical and a symbol for many things. It is based on social circumstances where we are missing respect for one another, where we are missing kindness, where we are missing freedom etc.

Svetislav Martinovic viewing artworks exhibited at Christine X Art Gallery. Photo: Jacob Sammut

We think that we ought to be progressing but, in reality, we are regressing in so many different ways, including with respect to our environment which gets overbuilt to the point that even our air is suffocating.

What started out as “I can’t breathe” now becomes “We can’t breathe”.

Yes, the Black Lives Matter movement is still very relevant, and I like to stress on that, even in my paintings where I repeat the image of Floyd.

Describe your artistic progress after the idea

Before I get to the studio, I would have already had an idea to start with and when I get to the studio, I work on a lot of sketches, which I later develop into larger works. For this project, one may notice there are a lot of letters as I thought they’d be enough to make the statement I wanted to put out there. I developed this in many languages: in English, in Italian and even in Maltese.

Building III by Svetslav Martinovic.

This series of works doesn’t include a lot of colour and the black and white contrast symbolises the light and dark which I find very expressive. I work in watercolours, but very differently to the way most painters use watercolours. When I work in large scale, it gives me the capability to work in a new territory. It starts out very abstract but then I keep going over the work about 15 times in all.

Although I paint primarily in watercolours, and I manage to get the result I am looking for, I also use acrylics when I want to make a section more three-dimensional. I wouldn’t have been able to do so with watercolours.

Do you have any artists who inspire you and act as a point of inspiration for your work?

I like many painters and I appreciate what they have to offer. To mention a few, I like Paul Ching-Bor, Jasper Johns, Frans Klein and Kiefer Ansel, although there’s no direct influence there.

NON POSSO RESPIRARE II by Svetislav Martinovic.

Do you prefer the result or the process?

I personally find the result less important than the questions put forward in a work of art. I don’t like to speak about my work too as I feel it’s for you to see, feel and reflect upon.

Do you plan to expand on this project?

I plan to insert some of these images into a competition, to see what the reaction would be, and I also plan to take this exhibition to Italy and Belgrade.

The exhibition is being supported by AP VALLETTA and five per cent of sales throughout the exhibition will be donated to Flimkien għal-Ambjent Aħjar. The exhibition, held at Christine X Art Gallery in corner between Tigné street and Hughes Hallet street in Sliema, remains open until March 28. For those not present to see it in person, the exhibition is available on the Artsy viewing room until March 28.