The Newspoint team met up with MA in Fine Arts final year student Ms Sabrina Debono. Ms Debono has just finalised her dissertation project within the Department of Art and History of Art, at the University of Malta and she was supervised by Prof. Guiseppe Schembri Bonaci. Sabrina is a mother of two boys and her house is considered as an art gallery.
The exhibition ‘Breathless’ is available to everyone on campus in Car park 4 as it currently forms part of the APS Summer Festival.
Q: What is your current profession?
A: Years ago, I graduated from the Bachelor in Education course at the University of Malta, following a Masters in Teaching and Learning at the Faculty of Education. My first job was teaching, which lasted for 15 years at San Anton primary. My passion for Art has always existed and later in life I decided to broaden my perspective and take my education in Art studies further. The best course for me was the Master in Fine Arts.
Q: Is this exhibition part of your dissertation project?
A: Yes, this exhibition is my work through the past two years. This was my idea for the final dissertation project. The written dissertation is called ‘Enhancing biophilic awareness in society through public art’. Biophilia means our innate love for nature, how we are born with a natural tie to nature and its elements. Through this project I wanted to combine art, reality and nature, which are both passions of mine. The main focus is on nature and my question was how can I create awareness about what is happening in Malta (and also around the world) through my art? My sole objective is to depict our surroundings, although it’s very beautiful somehow it looks disrupted and how we are opposing nature in some ways. The works projected are based and inspired from the Central link project which took place in Mdina road, and Misrah Kola in Attard. This is very close to my residential area.
Q: What was the process of this project's end result?
A: Two years ago, I started sketching the trees on Mdina road and around the area, eventually it turned out to be a photo documentary from how it was to how it looks now. I saw the landscape change through my eyes every day and my final work represents the residue of this deforestation. The trees used in my exhibition are actually chopped from the same road and they were 35 years old. New trees were planted after the Central link infrastructure project was completed, but these trees are only around two years old. The idea of the chosen theme was developed through actions that were happening everyday and I thought that this can be a very rich contribution to my art.
Q: Can you describe your exhibition?
A: I decided to include mostly natural resources, for example I used the uprooted trees which I encountered on the side of the road. The reason why the trees are placed haphazardly is because it reflects the attitude and actions taken towards our environment. I wanted this exhibition to send a really powerful message, I even covered myself in concrete as shown in the video.
The exhibition is divided into sections:
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Gasping for air: This is a public art, which reflects the trees as a source of fresh air. Through this piece I wanted to show how by human nature we long for a connection with nature.
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Restraining of nature: This is an art installation, and it portrays the realistic aspect of holding nature away from people.
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Aborted life cycle of the sapling: This a 3x3m canvas painting covered in Bitumen, it shows how the tree’s life cycle is being aborted.
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Paintings: using marble dust, twigs and charcoal and other natural resources. Used colours to create a contrast with the outside exhibition and the inside
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Attempted preservation of the fragile natural environment: This section shows the fragility of nature through broken glass, the plastic wrapping shows that we are trying to preserve nature and the roots tips are burned, which symbolises that nature is still trying to survive.
Do you think Art has the power to implement change on such environmental issues in Malta?
A: I might sound too positive if I said it will create change, however it is a start, my art is one form of awareness and I am very happy to share it with the general public. Awareness is the first step, like this people are becoming conscious, curious and even more aware of these environmental changes. There are a lot of factors to consider before actually implementing a change. I received very positive feedback and most people said that the exhibition video is shocking, it actually got them thinking.
