Valentine’s Day is defined by the colour red, which symbolises passion in all its nuances and contexts. The image of an enterprising but almost pestilent winged putto-like Cupid is a staple in pop iconography associated with this feast that celebrates romantic love.

Cupid pierces red tumescent hearts with arrows from his bow, thus inflicting love on his unwitting victims.

Classical mythology has provided the narrative and imagery that are part and parcel of February 14, which makes it a day less ordinary for lovers all over the world.

As per previous Valentine’s Day editions, Joseph Agius has asked six contemporary Maltese artists for their take on the feast of love through one example of their art, and to discuss in a few words the concept underlying the chosen work.

Debbie Bonello – Lulu

Love comes in various ways; one cannot dismiss the deep connection a pet can offer. As much as I love painting human faces, I equally enjoy concentrating on pets occasionally, specifically those of dogs. I definitely have a soft spot for these wonderful loyal creatures who do not utter a single word but who offer great loyalty, companionship, love and laughter.

This is why I chose a portrait of my late Lulu, who was present throughout my kids’ childhood, offering endless happy memories. She owns a piece of my heart, without any doubt, and I truly believe that these creatures are like guardian angels, protecting us from ourselves at times.

I recently came across a random quote saying “God said: ‘I will send them without wings so no one will suspect they are angels’.” I absolutely agree.

Gabriel Buttigieg – Two Lovers (On Pothos Leaves and WaterFalls)

My work has always tended to be in continuous flux, tapping into the bestial, and consequently gently flowing into more delicate, vulnerable and ever so fragile soulful spaces. In truth, these two paradoxical yet complementary drives create conflict in the psyche and may lead to outcomes which impact on the moral and the social components of our lives. The consequences may create turbulence and turmoil of the internal kind, coupled with that which pains the other.

The idea behind this painting was the perennial exploration of the other, an inner drive which is difficult to quench. It features two main protagonists, who are intertwined and engulf each other, in an insatiable urge which is difficult to satisfy, a thirst which nothing satiates. Through assuming such a vulnerable position, they seek to incorporate and become one, through mouthing and tasting the other, in a stance of both mutual protection and attack.

This capricious interplay between the intrinsic animal drive and the logical human capacity was always one of the main psychodynamic aspects that I have explored in my work, facets which exist on both an archetypal and a scientific level. This holistic undertaking gives rise to complex deterministic and evolutionary trajectories of humanity, resulting in the paradoxes and the complexities which we live with daily.

Catherine Cavallo – Two Women in Orange Tree

Though man claims to want a world filled with love, it seems to me that our behaviour tells a very different story. Man was born imperfect in a perfect world, and rather than look at that perfection and learn from it, we have systematically abused and destroyed it, all under the pretext of progress and improvement. I look at trees and see a community that has truly understood the real meaning of true love; that we in the universe are all one.

Trees live in a deeply linked community where they take care of each other because they understand that everything in this universe is deserving of real, unbiased, absolutely equally-given love, and that nurture sustains the world.

This painting is one of a series depicting the difficulty in forging a bond of love between man and trees. Some figures portray an awkwardness or discomfort as they struggle with this harmony, while in contrast, the figures in this painting are embracing the tree and allowing it to teach them its secrets. Once a bond is forged, the secrets of life and love can be known.

So far are we from knowing the trees’ secrets, we are systematically eradicating them, destroying nature and thereby losing hold of the keys to the successful future of our incredible world.

Anna Galea – Eyeing You

Love… on Valentine’s Day, we should all pause for a moment and reflect on our love for mother nature… there for us all ‒ even though often mistreated… forgiving even though at times abused.

My art is about celebrating nature ‒ whether it’s flowers, trees, fruit and vegetables, beaches and oceans ‒ a form of escape from the human-induced chaos of today’s world. Figurative and sometimes venturing into the abstract, my paintings zoom into nature’s creations to highlight what’s out there for us to enjoy.

The best things in life are free for us to savour… if only we just look. Even nature’s most mundane objects which we take for granted are beautiful, and it is foolish of us not to be mindful about this ‒ immense joy and peace can be gained just by being thankful and appreciative of our wonderful world of nature.

Flowers symbolise love… my giant flower is eyeing us to see whether we can really appreciate the natural wonders of our world, or whether we will just go ahead with slowly and systematically destroying them.

Peter Seychell – The Killing Fields

Man, playing at politics, feeding inflated egos, carving out shrines for themselves on the facades of history. Postulating, in a frenzy driven by divine purpose.

Blood, so much blood… Lives, so many lives, wasted or forever maimed. Love, so much love, spilt on the battlefield, forever lost. Families dragged through so much pain and sorrow, their youngsters reduced to cannon fodder, relationships reduced to memories, wasted dreams strewn on the killing fields of war.

The sun sets and another moon bathes the killing fields in its ethereal light. Another day, another night. The fallen of today; a statistic.  Tomorrow’s another day.

Love wasted, so much love… wasted.

Joseph P. Smith – Till Death Do Us Part

St Valentine’s Day is dedicated to lovers. I find that there is a heavy commercial sheen to it all and it comes across as very superficial.  While ‘love’ should be celebrated, on this day my thoughts tend to go to those who lost a loved one, a partner, a fami­ly member or an important person in their life. 

The image itself speaks of oneness and yet of separation. Two dead and shrivelled leaves that once pertained to the same family on a branch of a tree.