Artists Mario Abela and Justin Falzon discuss their current exhibition at Arte…Gallery, their experience of painting together and their reflection and exploration of life and death.

Eve Cocks [EC]: So how long have you known each other for?

Justin Falzon [JF]: Since 1997 or 1998.

Mario Abela [MA]: Definitely since sixth form, and we’ve been good friends since then.

EC: And is this your first time exhibiting/working together?

JF: Yes…

EC: I’m quite surprised that you’ve known each other for this long and it’s only now that you’ve decided to collaborate together.

MA: Justin has been active in the art scene for about 12 years, whereas I had stopped painting for some time to focus on graphic design. It was only recently – around 4 to 5 years ago – that I took up painting and drawing again. But we’ve kept in touch, visiting each other’s studio regularly. I think it was last September when we had gone to visit the Venice Biennale that we decided to take the plunge. At the time Justin had already started producing some of the paintings which are on show – as originally he was planning on organising a solo exhibition.

JF: But things weren’t working out as planned so I asked Mario whether he would be interested to collaborate with me instead. In fact it was Mario who curated the exhibition.

MA: I was a bit hesitant at first as I was working on another exhibition at the time, which was held a few months ago at Spazju Kreattiv – Dislocated Geographies.

EC: How come you titled the exhibition “Being Us?”

MA: Justin and I practically grew up together; therefore we know each other’s story. So it’s ‘Being Us’ in the sense that the exhibition is about ‘being us’ as friends, as persons, as artists. The exhibition calls into question man’s existence; it invites the viewer to reflect on aspects of life and death…What makes us who we are? Where do we come from?

EC: And what triggered your interest in questioning man’s existence?

MA: In Justin’s case it was his father’s death.

JF: It was more the experience of seeing my father’s remains that got me thinking. At one point in time, my family and I had to open his coffin. I remember being struck by the sight of his skeleton which had remained fully intact. Seeing his teeth, which are the visible aspect of a skeleton, left a feeling of total unease in me.

EC: And what about you Mario?

MA: I’ve been brought up in a very religious family and this really used to dictate the way I thought and behaved. I remember always being conditioned by fear.

EC: Fear…

MA: Fear that God will punish me if I’d behave in a certain way. But as I got older, I started doubting this. I remember I was never really exposed to science. So my works can be read as a response to all of my questions. Even the works which I exhibited as part of ‘Dislocated Geographies’, they all revolved around these existential thoughts. Another factor which kindled my interest in existentialism was the birth of my son Ben. I was very prolific from this period onward.

EC: What do the works on show represent?

JF: Mario’s works represent ultrasounds of pregnant wombs, whereas mine depict bodies in different stages of decomposition. Mario’s works basically deal with the beginning of life whereas mine deal with the end of life.

MA: Apart from it being a visual conversation between friends, this exhibition is also a visual dialogue between life and death, which culminates in the large piece which we titled Being Us. Justin and I worked on this together.

EC: It looks like it’s been made by one person…

JF: A lot of people told us so, but if you look closer at the work you’d be able make out which areas are mine and which areas belong to Mario. Mine look more painterly in approach whereas Mario’s look more graphic.

EC: Mario, I guess that your interest in linearity stems from your profession as a graphic designer.

MA: Definitely, but the lines which dominate most of the composition were inspired from ultrasounds. In fact, if you had to look at a real ultrasound, you will notice that it is made up of various gradients and scales.

EC: Justin, during the opening of the show you told me that Being Us was spontaneously made.

JF: We painted it without a preconceived plan which isn’t usually the way I work. This blocked me so Mario started it off and then I picked up afterwards.

EC: Standing in front of a blank paper or canvas can be very intimidating, but I guess it’s until you start...

MA: It was also Justin’s first time painting on such a large scale. Both of us were excited. In fact, I could barely sleep the night before. The artwork is almost 3 meters long. Initially we weren’t planning on working on such a large scale but the need to enlarge was felt by both of us.

JF: It was also my first experience painting together with someone on the same paper. This experience really helped me loosen up a bit. I usually work on my own and spend a lot time thinking about different possible compositions before I decide upon the final piece. Just to give you an idea, I painted around 30 different pieces before I chose the ones for the current show. Sometimes I feel that I have to let go a bit and stop over thinking. At one point I wasn’t happy with how Being Us was turning out and Mario said to me “just forget about it for the time being and work on something else”. This helped me understand that at times I need to let go and detach. This gave me a sense of perspective.

EC: How would you describe the experience of painting together…..

JF: Effortless.

MA: We would have kept on working on the same work for a whole week if we wanted to. I think this experience helped us both. I was really fascinated by this idea of two minds interacting. Like you said earlier, the work looks like it’s been made by one person.

EC: Even the other works on show, although they differ in style they work quite harmoniously together. Your works are deep, enigmatic…..

JF: The nature of this dialogue with the self is intangible when it comes to explaining with words. That is why our works are deep and dark to an extent.

MA: I’m sure that throughout these years of friendship we somehow influence one another. This is not going to be our last collaboration together.

BEING US is being held at Arte…Gallery, Victoria, Gozo until Friday 8th June. If you would like to know more about Mario Abela and Justin Falzon click on these links www.abelamario.com, www.justinfalzon.com

FEATURE IMAGE: Kindly provided by Mario Abela