THE SNAKE SHOW is a contemporary art exhibition curated by Bettina Hutschek for FRAGMENTA MALTA. Through a combination of snake-related artworks, research materials, archival objects and other interesting curiosities, the exhibition incites the viewer to dig deeper into the symbolical potential of the snake; to reflect upon the cultural beliefs and practices related to snakes in both a Maltese and in an international context. “By means of snake stories”, the exhibition also examines the image and the identity of women in contemporary society.

THE SNAKE SHOW is open until February 11th at ECOTRACO, 188 St Lucy street, Valletta, and it includes works by artists Karine Rougier, Ryan Falzon, Sharon Kivland, Sarah Maria Scicluna, Pippin Barr, Carl Gent, and Anna Block. The show also extends outside the exhibition space, with works being installed in the surrounding streets. Here’s some food for thought.

IMAGE CAPTION INFO: kindly provided by FRAGMENTA MALTA
PHOTO CREDITS: evecocks.com

Front: Eye of Osiris. “Supposedly a tradition since Phoenician time, the eye of Osiris, also called Eye of Horus, symbolises wisdom, healing and restoration. The symbol consists of a stylized eye and was also called Wadjet after the cobra goddess and patron of lower Egypt.”

Middle: “Holy Spit” Spit from a person born on January 25th (donated by Antonia Cetchuti). “By the 16th century, the viper story described in the Acts of the Apostle had been expanded to include a number of pseudo-historic and medical beliefs. This included the belief that persons born on the Feast of Conversation of St Paul (Jan. 25th) have salivia that can cure snake bite and inflammation, thereby making their spit holy (Savona Venture, Maltese Medical Folklore).”

Back: Mouth-blown vase in form of snake (object borrowed from Anja Guthoff’s cabinet of curiosities).

SNAKE TATTOO (images courtesy of Pierre Portelli from REL.INK Indelible Narratives Exhibition, 2017).

SNAKISMS by Pippin Barr (video game, 2017).

“SNAKISMS is a half-serious, half-humorous attempt to communicate fundamental philosophical concepts through video game language of the classic cell phone game snake. Players experience ideas such as Narcissism, Determinism and Capitalism first-hand as they guide the titular snake in its eternal quest to eat apples and survive.”

Postcards depicting Adam and Eve and The Fall of Man. “Adam and Eve were forbidden to touch the tree of knowledge of good and evil, until a serpent convinced Eve to taste the fruit of the tree, therefore disobeying God. This is known as the ‘original sin.’ In Christian iconography, the serpent is depicted as evil and a conveyor of sin, and in the catholic religion it is presumed that everybody is hence born with an inclination for sin. Joseph Campbell questions the serpents’s role in Abrahamic religions as being mythologically misunderstood…”

Left: Wooden Snake (more details below).

Right: St Patrick pointing, reproduction photography, various authors. “One of the best-known stories about St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, is that he banished all the snakes from Ireland during the 5th century AD. These images depict St. Patrick banishing snakes from the island of Ireland. It is told that, during a forty day fast, a horde of snakes began to attack St Patrick. So disrupted by these snakes he decided to drive them from the land. It is debatable however that there were ever snakes in Ireland to begin with, and some have debated that this tale is allegorical; the snake standing for evil being rid from the land upon St Patrick’s arrival.”

“The Wooden Wiggle Snake is a fun fidget toy, acquired from a tourist shop in Valletta. “You can move this wooden snake around in your hands to create all kinds of slithery smooth S-shapes. With some imagination, it might just look like a real snake.You can also place it in your office for a friendly (or not so friendly) desk pal.”

Live gadget: THE SNAKE SHOW….SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

GQ MAGAZINE: Rihanna as topless Medusa (December issue).

“On the 25th anniversary cover of the British GQ MAGAZINE, the RnB Diva Rihanna poses as a contemporary sexy version of the mythological character Medusa. In Greek mythology, Medusa had snakes instead of hair, and her gaze turned onlookers to stones, until Perseus tricked and beheaded her. The full art portfolio for this special GQ issue was directed by British artist Damien Hirst; images were photographed by Mariano Vivanco. Rihanna wears nothing but a real python which was handled by 3 snake handlers on set.”

Snake Leather Boots (loan of Holly Knowles).

Danse Serpentine (Serpentine Dance), 1896.

“Serpentine Dance was popular throughout the United States and Europe in the 1890s, becoming a staple of stage shows and early film. The Serpentine was developed by pioneer modern dancer Loie Fuller as an evolution of the skirt dance and was a reaction against “academic” forms of ballet, incorporating tamed-down versions of folk and popular dances. Recorded in 1896 in Paris, the frames are colored by hand. This film was described as both ‘angelic’ and ‘demonic’. Danse Serpentine was filmed by Lumiere Brothers in 1896.”

The Good Readers by Sharon Kivland @ The Smart Millnery, Archbishop Street Nr. 144, Valletta.

“The Good Readers is a series of works in which a number of stuffed animals are assumed to have agency. There are foxes, weasels, deer and stoats…and in this version, a cobra rears its phallic head but it’s countered by the stoat’s (let us assume she is a female) effective reading of Freud’s work on sexuality (Trois essais sur la théorie sexuelle).”

If you would like to learn more about the THE SNAKE SHOW and its thought-provoking exhibits, tomorrow (Sunday 11th Feb.) from 5-7 pm, curator Bettina Hutschek will be discussing the show at ECOTRACO (188 St Lucy street, Valletta). Click on this link for further details https://www.facebook.com/events/151327212236536/

FRAGMENTA is a platform for presenting contemporary art in the form of pop-up exhibitions and events in public or semi-public spaces on the Maltese Islands. FRAGMENTA Malta is supported by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and is part of the cultural program of Valletta 2018 https://valletta2018.org/cultural-programme/fragmenta-malta/. You can find out more about FRAGMENTA by following this link https://fragmentamalta.com/