13 Nov 2023 - 15 Dec 2023
Venue: Mdina Cathedral Museum, Archbishop Square, Mdina
Artistic Director: Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci
Artwork: ...and now it is time to remedy - Mixed media on canvas - 130cm x 170cm - 2023

The APS Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale - Mediterranean Goddesses

...and now it is time to remedy

About the Biennale

The fourth edition of the APS Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale, directed by Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, explores the theme Mediterranean Goddesses. Continuing the Biennale's ethos of renewal and dialogue between tradition and contemporary issues, it reflects on spirituality, fertility, and the mythological roots of the Mediterranean as aesthetic responses to today's global and environmental challenges.

Artist Statement

This artwork is a direct development of the art piece presented in the 2021 APS Mdina Biennale, entitled Forgive us, for we have misunderstood. In fact, the two artworks can be seen as a progression that should read Forgive us, for we have misunderstood, and now it is time to remedy. The subject matter of the painting presents a female and male figure, facing the audience directly, recalling Adam and Eve.

Both figures are seen in the presence of a pushchair and doll/soft toy, representing fertility and infancy. The female figure is a voluptuous full-bodied woman, referring to the Goddess of fertility in Maltese Neolithic history, the Mediterranean Goddess. She is tattooed on the chest and arms. These tattoos refer both to tribalistic rituals of the past and to contemporary trends. The tattoo on the chest is a skull with wings, a perfect representation of mortality and afterlife. She is accompanied by a male, a partner for progeny.

The background is that of a rundown urban environment, yet the ground on which the figures are standing is meant to be fresh grass with blooming flowers, indicative of new beginnings. The pushchairs and both figures are standing on clean prosperous soil, representing hope for the future.