Being the first solo, and posthumous, exhibition of the work of pioneering Maltese photographer Wilfrid Flores, Shadows & Light is a show which is not to be missed. Joseph Agius talks to photographer DAVID PISANI who is also the exhibition’s curator.

JA: The early days of Maltese photography are usually associated with, among others, Richard Ellis and Leandro Preziosi, and later, in the 20th century, with Charles A. Herbert and others. How does Wilfred Flores (1912-1981) fit in this Maltese milieu?

DP: During his lifetime, Wilfrid Flores was considered an expert in photography both from a technical point of view as well as for his knowledge of the arts. However, his work was only sporadically exhibited, and after his death in 1981, his work was put storage by his family and never seen publicly, which is why his name was soon forgotten.

JA: As you said in the exhibition’s mission statement, giants like Ansel Adams and Man Ray paved the way for photography to become an art form. Do you think Flores was aware of these breakthroughs in photography happening away from these shores? Or did his vision develop independently?

DP: He was most definitely aware of the developments in the photographic world. Through magazines and annuals, he was in touch with what was going on and to some extent, like any artist, he was influenced by it all. That said, none of his known works have any trace of attempting to copy his contemporaries. He had his own vision of the world and aesthetics, and he just went along with it.

A portrait of a woman.

JA: Why the choice of the title Shadows & Light?

DP: I chose this title because it speaks of the very essence of a photographic image, its unadulterated beauty and simplicity. Flores was not interested in docu­menting Malta’s historical events, state visits, etc. Other photographers were doing this very thoroughly. What he was interested in was the poetry and metaphor that a photographic artwork could encapsulate in a fine-art black-and-white print that is none other than shadows and light.

A seascape

JA: The photos of farmworkers document the ‘groundwaters’ of the Maltese society of that time, well within their working environment. There is a freedom in these compositions that transcends the rigidity of a studio setup. What value, artistic and otherwise, do you ascribe to these particular works?

DP: It is almost certain that these pictures were to some extent staged or at least directed. We can know this by analysing the contact sheets of the films, which gives us an insight into the working method of a photographer. This was common practice at the time (as it is today) but does not deter from the image having a convincing spontaneity. Flores was certainly not one to glamourise or fake things. He was an idealist, a lover of nature and a humanist, and was therefore incapable of artifice.

What he was interested in was the poetry and metaphor that a photographic artwork could encapsulate in a fine-art black and white print that is none other than shadows and light

JA: Is there one particular theme that stands out in his oeuvre and that essentially defines him? I make him out as an artist who was confident in both theme and execution, certainly revolutionary in a Maltese context.

DP: Flores did not work on a specific theme, nor did he produce a body of work on a single theme. He photographed what he found to be aesthetically and poetically beautiful, whether it was a rural country scene or a young girl standing on the threshold of a house. He photographed what he loved, and that was life, family and nature. He did many portraits; however, we have very little trace of these as most were done on a non-commercial basis and given away to the sitters.

A Valletta streetscape

JA: Flores was also interested in cinematography. I find a documentary perspective in his work. Did cinematography help to hone this expression? Or did it speak a different language?

DP: That’s a question I cannot answer because I have never seen any of his films, and of the negatives and other docu­ments given to me by his family, there were no cine films. We do know that he did some filming very early in his life, and we have a wonderful photograph of a very young Flores with a cine camera.

A photo of Porte de Bombes

JA: This is rather surprisingly the first solo exhibition of Flores’s work. Would you say that Shadows & Light is a seminal exhibition that redresses a lacuna in the knowledge of the development of photography as an art form in Malta?

DP: Yes, I believe that visitors to the exhibition will be surprised to see this type of work, bearing in mind that some of this work is more than 70 years old and done at a time when photography was far from being considered an art form. It also gives a voice to a true master of his craft whose work was for decades stored in a few cardboard boxes.

An idyllic photo of the Maltese countryside.

JA: His son, Marcus, is also a fine-art photographer. How does the son’s work relate to that of his father?

DP: Marcus inherited from his father a lot of basic technical and aesthetic knowledge which allowed him to progress rapidly at an early age. However, they are two completely different temperaments, his father Wilfrid a calm and gentle observer of life and nature with an empathetic eye for beauty, and Marcus a tormented soul as only a great artist can be.

Shadow & Light, hosted by Christine X Art Gallery of Hugh Hallet Street c/w Tigné Street, is on until November 22. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 10am to 1pm and 4 to 7pm.