Joseph Agius writes about Pursuits, a collection of works by Wallace Falzon that is currently showing in Valletta

“My investigations resembled the pursuit of the solution to a problem.” – Rene Magritte

Life happens like a sine wave, pitfalls and all. At times, the trough deepens into a chasm. A way back up to the crest is a Sisyphean task. The boulder is too heavy and threatens to resist any attempt at being rolled back up to its original position. The top of the crest promises rest and equilibrium and a huge sigh of relief. 

Wallace Falzon’s art is a quest for that equilibrium. Hindsight, while reassuring, is very therapeutic. Pursuits, the title itself being a thematic pun, is his third solo exhibition which once again confirms his versatility as both a sculptor and a painter. Sculpture allows him to give volume to imaginary and real-life characters whom he categorises as stereotypes belonging to different social strata. There is a focus on the particular individual and the ‘escutcheons’ that sometimes accompany the Giacomettian humanoid figure. These symbolic additions establish the storyline and define an experience along the sine wave of a life. 

The Traveller

The canvas or board offers more freedom to Falzon as he forages in the memories of that particular period of his life in which, quoting Samuel Beckett, he received “more pricks than kicks”. The poignant Magrittian self-portraits and the symbolic, rather surrealist stories that he narrates are chapters in his autobiography. The signature suit and tie nod towards a status symbol of sorts, one whose glamour has inexorably faded away. The rosy dreams of personal achievement and success have soured into nightmares.

There is resignation and quiet desperation in Private Space. However, alcohol offers some mellow solace and the momentary lowering down of one’s guard. The crumpled and sweaty shirt has lost its early morning pristine freshness as there is re-evaluation of the events of the day at the office. Pensively, he wracks his brain for a way out. He is wary of the window which opens to the world outside. Alcohol is a quick fix as it numbs the pain. The barely visible floral motifs that decorate the walls symbolically illustrate the story of a fall from grace. Even the most majestic of sunflowers eventually wilts and dies. 

The barely visible floral motifs that decorate the walls symbolically illustrate the story of a fall from grace

This same wilted floral motif can be found in another painting Escaping from the Office.  In this very poignant painting, Falzon discards his past, his old withered self as represented by the Anselm Kiefer-like wilted flower, leaves the cell of his office and hesitantly crosses the threshold into a hopeful future of sunny skies and limpid blue sea. 

The surreal composition of the painting questions whether this is indeed a view of the outside or otherwise. The concave nature of the halcyon view suggests an alternative take on reality. Magritte describes this unreality as “The feeling when we look at the painting, the picture, and ourselves, are united in one mystery”. 

Falzon’s paintings all demonstrate that Hockney-style, bright, well-lit negative space. Thus, the painful representations of Falzon’s psychological states are paradoxically enriched with colour and hope. The auto-immune condition from which he suffers has conditioned his life. The designer suits that exuded élan and self-confidence are shedded off like secondary skin. He combats dejection every day. Life has become a constant struggle as the artist comes to terms with a debilitating disease that has reduced significantly the dexterity of his limbs. 

The wistful sculptures embody an ironic and universal overview of contemporary life. One can knowingly smile and empathise as Falzon’s stories are absurdly funny ones as their punchlines are relevant to one and all. We are not immune to the tragedy of this gadget-dependent contemporary life – one in which a nine-to-five office job provides some modicum of financial security. However, it also demands from us a pound of flesh. Sometimes, one job is not enough to make ends meet. It is hard to balance the equation of jobs, housework, shopping, children, their school problems and dull family mores. One attempts one’s best to harvest some free time and enjoy some semblance of a decent social life.

Escape from the Office

The monochromatic sculptures are three dimensional like us and belong to our world of dark nooks and forgotten crannies. Their rough texture and their apparent fragility are what make them vulnerable icons of a 21st century fragmented society. 

Although there is an existential cry for release and an artistic nod towards the oeuvre of Alberto Giacometti as well as that of Germaine Richier, Falzon has steered away from a facile categorisation of his work as Giacomettian. The conceptual origin of some of these slender and delicate works is dark. However, he eliminates the negative existential angst and replaces it with a positive and hopeful message of possible redemption. This is the narrative common to all his sculptures. 

Falzon creates art for its therapeutic benefits. However, there are days when he is quite incapable of even holding a painting brush as his fingers are powerless and fail to grab the brush firmly. Moulding the exoskeleton of a sculpture at times can be overwhelming but he never gives up. He wrestles with the disability and manages to overcome it most of the time.

Despondency is not in Falzon’s vocabulary, even though the boulder he has to relentlessly carry every day is at times back-breaking. French existentialist author Albert Camus declared in his famous The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays that: “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”  And that defines Wallace Falzon in a nutshell.

La Borsa Exchange Buildings, Republic Street, Valletta is hosting Pursuits. The exhibition is open to the public from October 25 to October 29. Pursuits is curated by Roderick Camilleri.