Local artist Ramon Azzopardi Fiott is showcasing 10 digital paintings that form his MeliTENSION collection – a series depicting fantastical creatures inspired by icons of Maltese identity, set against local backdrops.

The paintings are being showcased at the exhibition A DATE* with MeliTENSION at DATE Art Café, Cospicua, until January 27.

Azzopardi Fiott says the ethos of the collection is hinted in the name, with “Meli-”, from the Latin Melitensis, referring to Malta and “-tension” reflecting the many tensions in contemporary life on the island and the artist’s own complicated relationship with the island.

Gardjola

The collection was first exhibited at the MUŻA National Museum of Art between January and February last year.

The current exhibition is also debuting MINItension, a series of limited-edition fine art prints that are smaller, have a larger print run a more modest price tag than the standard edition.

“The idea behind this is to make the arts more accessible and owning art more attainable,” says the artist.

“The paintings are a celebration of Maltese-ness and queerness while serving as a protest, and a reality check, packaged in a playful style.”

Asked how the creatures in his digital paintings came to express the themes prevalent in the works, namely our heritage, its loss and its reimagining, the artist says the creatures or monsters he paints all embody elements of Malta’s fading traditional aesthetic. 

The headlining painting in MeliTENSION, Triton, has since been added to the national permanent collection and is about the empowering effect of self-actualisation.

Gardjola

It shows a triton from the Apap fountain exuding a sense of glamour – a feeling the artist associates with the whimsy that comes with exceptionally good days.

A similar playfulness can be seen in Gardjola, which depicts the watchtower in Senglea with an eye and ears, but as seen through the artist’s eyes.

“I’ve always thought it looks like a cornetto with a face, albeit a strange face indeed. I love seeing people smile as they glance at the piece.

“The image of the tower has been recreated so many times – it’s all but lost its novelty to the local eye. I hoped to remind people how wonderfully unique Malta is and share the burning need I feel to preserve and cultivate our peculiar aesthetic and charm,” he says.

Our identity and its artefacts are precious, but not untouchable

While many of the paintings invite the public to view local icons with fresh eyes, some of the works are more direct protest pieces, including Street Organ Blues, Id-Di & D-Do 1 and Id-Di & D-Do 2.

“Street Organ Blues is set at the Saqqajja fountain and is a fusion of a giant snail and a terramaxka, a traditional Maltese street organ. In the middle, instead of pipes, are lungs – human ‘pipes’ taking the damage from our polluted, car-dominated streets. The snail represents the pace of environmental progress,” he says.

The paintings Id-Di & D-Do parts 1 and 2 directly comment on the loss of Malta’s heritage, telling the story of two romantic balconies who have stood beside each other for decades, destined for a bitter end. 

Street Organ Blues

“The two houses are the only pair of traditional homes left in their street and they’re sandwiched between bland apartment blocks that fade into the blue background.

“The house with the green balcony has been destroyed for redevelopment. The front door of the destroyed house is bricked up and tagged with graffiti that reads ‘the Planning Authority was here’, practically spelling out my opinion that PA does not preserve, but rather vandalises our streets and thereby the very fabric of our local aesthetic,” says the artist.  

Azzopardi Fiott says the collection reflects the fact that Malta is not living up to its full potential and want to share its wonder in the hopes of helping preserve it.  

“I have a great love for this country – there’s truly nowhere else quite like it – but there’s tension in the relationship, hence the collection’s name. What I love about the island is all being built over. I’ve already experienced watching my mother wither and die, and now I feel like I’m watching the same happen to my motherland,” he says.

 The works in MeliTENSION seem to suggest that these eminently Maltese visions are more malleable than we imagine – that they can be aggrandised or diminished or reframed as the Maltese grow more into themselves. 

Balcón-être

Id-Di & D-Do part 1

Id-Di & D-Do part 2

Tal-Linja

“My work says that our identity and its artefacts are precious, but not untouchable,” he says.

“They are mishandled regularly – cart ruts being built over, gorgeous townhouses torn down and replaced by concrete, shapeless blocks, and green open spaces are regularly stolen from the public. Protecting our identity and its manifestations helps us find our place in the world and thrive.”

A DATE* with MeliTENSION at DATE Art Café, Cospicua, is showing until January 27. For more information, visit rafiott.com.