Working with Justine at Studio 87 has very much influenced the thought and process in creating this show. Living these past three years engrossed in the Catholic religion and traditions, she and I have shared many discussions on religion and politics, as well as our differences and similarities from our own culture, religion and social upbringing. In this exhibition I have reflected upon those conversations.
A famous line of the author William Blake. The bull and lion are popular subjects in Persian mythology. Starting from the Zoroastrians, it represents a dichotomy in our universe. Opposition and friendship by definition are opposite to each other, yet in this composition both animals, the predator and prey, command the same level of respect and dominance. The bull and lion symbolize the dichotomy I see in our society: the lion as cautious and conservative, the bull as liberal and everchanging.
2. No Man Can Live on Bread Alone
“Man shall not live by bread alone” from Matthew 4:4. Human beings are complicated and need more than basic necessities. In the painting, I am trying to capture the inner dualism of the natural versus the rational man. The Thinker is placed centrally in the composition challenged with this conundrum, surrounded by flora and fauna of innocent and predatory nature.
3. “Thirty exhausted, wretched, broken things, with hopeless hearts and tattered trailing wings, saw that nameless glory which the mind acknowledges as ever undefined”
This painting is from a famous Persian illustration of “The Conference of the Birds” where each bird symbolizes a human fault. I have titled my piece from a translation of a Rumi poem. I love birds and even as a child looked up in awe at their grace and pride, yet they are frail and frightened things. In my interpretation, I have painted migrant birds of Malta, such as the hoopoes, raptors and storks. These exhausted, wretched and broken things, similar to migrant people, with hopeless hearts and tattered trailing wings are in conversation with the man holding the gun. The nameless glory acknowledged as ever undefined; the moral dilemma of the antagonist. The poem ends with no judgment, each action carries its weight and it is for you to decide what it is worth.
I started this painting with Rumi’s words again in my mind: “Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure.” I am sad to be leaving this country and all of its rich history. However, upon starting the painting, I quickly realized this was not really my story but a tribute to a close friend here who truly experienced loss of the worst kind. Mother Mary holds on to her calf in a last act of love before eternal loss. but she knows God’s loving plan holds hope in a new beginning. I have come to see this painting as a story of faith and resilience. The lioness represents her friends and support. The white leopards represent strength, perseverance and balance. The Grand Harbor, where many wars have been fought and many ships have sunk, will return back to its sublime beauty each time. She weathers the storm and stands strong.
5. “Old John with white hair. Does laugh away care. Sitting under the oak. Amongst the old folk”
In this painting, I took the words of William Blake out of context. The old man, staged in the middle of the mountain, is confronted by his own vulnerabilities. The crow above his head symbolizes a changing destiny. Down from the bird, an imaginary line divides the composition into two halves. One side, mesmerizing with gold, tells the story of a human vice (egotism). In the other half, we see an old man with his head down almost as though the weight of the world weighs on his shoulders. He is not “carefree” and is confronted by choosing between his good or bad conscience. In this painting, I chose to use Saint Jerome, who with a brilliant mind still struggled as a man with a bad temper. “More than anything, Jerome hated his anger. He was desperate to defeat his temper and went to great lengths to do it, even carrying a stone around with him with which to beat himself when his anger threatened to overcome him.” (St Jerome introspective insert by Meg Hunter-Kilmer, September 2017, alethia.org)