Those EYES THESE EYES THEY FADE

The exhibition invites the viewer to move through contrasting environments that provoke a multiplicity of perceptions. Like images perceived within the blink of an eye, the exhibition articulates visions a reality that is sometimes near, other times far. From Bernard Plossu’s expansive, radiant deserts to Bénédicte Blondeau’s shadow-lit, barren caves, from Nigel Baldacchino’s urban parks at dawn to Awoiska van der Molen’s vacant urban architecture of inquietude at dusk, the photographs transport the viewer to imagined spaces, oscillating between the first signs of life at day break to dusk and disappearance. Singular representation of natural or man-made objects and structures, these images recall the paradoxical nature of photography, characterised by its ability to record and represent the visible, as well as its capacity to disturb it. The presentation of photographic ‘evidence’ conveys doubt and introspection, gazing out, as a way of looking in. ​ Both intimate and distant, these images depict a close, personal outlook that is presented less as something to be grasped than something to witness. The spirit of the work, its silent universe, lies just outside the frame, reinforcing the paradox of photography as evocation rather than portrayal. ​ The exhibition itself does not present the photographed subjects and spaces in any kind of hierarchy or narrative. Instead, the show is conceived as an extended meditation, an active and poetic contemplation on the medium transcending its defining purpose. /////

VALLETTA CONTEMPORARY 15, 16, 17, Triq Lvant (East Street), Valletta, VLT1253, Malta info@vallettacontemporary.com