What do the ġostra, Catherine wheel fireworks and the għonnella have in common? While related to Maltese folklore and tradition, they all feature in Matthew Shirfield’s current show of artworks dedicated to the Germanic legend of Faust in an exhibition at The Splendid, telling audiences that, in the end, we remain as mortal as can be.

The Dirge has no fancy colours, no happy endings and no frills. A great many undercurrents of totally different nature pervade the diverse paintings with intricate significance. The artist chose ‘dirge’ as the title – a word that is uncommon, but its meaning is as old as time itself.

To set the picture, Niccolo dell’ Arca’s 15th-century sculpture of figures found in Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna, and known as the Compianto sul Cristo Morto, includes three female statues. They are crying, screaming, despairing over the dead body of Christ. Those women were in the throes of grief but had not as yet resigned themselves to it. A dirge is different – it is a slow, slow lament, a resignation to heart-wrenching loss, a kind of death march, an ‘adagio’ that verges on the catatonic.

And although the exhibition gallery is ensconced in silence, one can imagine a funerary march in the background as one walks around viewing the works.

The Sacrum, 2024.

Most certainly, the choice of The Splendid as a backdrop for The Dirge is impressively fitting. The works focus on dark underworld goings-on that reflect what Faust was, what he chose to become, what he represented, and how his story mirrors back on society in the here and now.

Through intensive philosophical observational analysis, the artist Matthew Shirfield dwells on the eternal human struggle to achieve immortality, which began with Adam, continued through the ages, passed through Jesus Christ and beyond.

A poignant exploration of Dr Faustus’s enigmatic figure

Concept-wise, the artist takes the viewer on a journey that touches upon a plethora of inspirational literature which he interconnects with the study of the Faustian character. Goethe, Dante, the Holy Bible, Aesop, Dostoevsky and of course Marlowe himself, the very man behind Dr Faust, all come into play in a philosophical web of multi-layered meanings teasing the viewer from within the visual imagery. 

Curator Roderick Camilleri explains further: “The Dirge is a poignant exploration of Faustus’s enigmatic figure, reimagined through a contemporary lens that blends different literary sources.

“What is most intriguing is that such a dark exposition can bring to light the grappling themes of ambition, power, and most of all, the nuances of good and evil, embedded in the human condition,” he continues.

Exhibition prompts us to question our own desires, the pursuit of power, and the potential consequences of wrong or vicious choices

“The young artist, with a keen eye for detail and philosophical notions, weaves together diverse literary interpretations to create a unique and thought-provoking narrative.

The Crucifixion Triptych, 2024.

“Through a selection of media, the artist invites the viewer to contemplate a contemporary metaphor for the current unchecked ambition, which reflects modern society’s complexities.

“The exhibition prompts us to question our own desires, the pursuit of power, and the potential consequences of wrong or vicious choices,” he says. 

The corpus of work being presented clearly indicates a remarkable artistic prowess that does not seem to draw a line between mediums.

Shirfield, in fact, uses a miscellany of painting processes spanning from good old oil on canvas, to ink wash on paper, lino print, pastel and acrylic, as well as tampered photographic images, to name a few.

If you are prepared to walk through the silent rooms by yourself, ready your eyes to stand and look closely at a gigantic triptych of a crucifixion inspired from Matthias Grünewald’s 16th-century Isenheim Altarpiece.

Walpurgis-Festa Series, 2024.

This is where Shirfield has intentionally included Mephistopheles, another demon of German invention.  Check out also the Walpurgis Festa Series, created out of photographic prints of Maltese fireworks. These prints were tampered with pastels and acrylics, and the results are pretty impressive since these morph into images of spectres, demons and witches. And there is the Human Bones Series, showcasing just three tiny body parts, all of which are highly significant in their inclusion within The Dirge. 

Shirfield perhaps embodies Faust most emphatically in two portraits – one is a self-portrait as an academic wearing clown’s makeup, the other, a portrait of a well-known Maltese doctor, in his final days, showing the reality of mortality. 

The message is clear: in the end, we remain as mortal as can be – the ending remains a sombre one and tomorrow remains unpromised.

The Dirge by Matthew Shirfield, curated by Roderick Camilleri, is showing at The Splendid in Valletta until November 29.