I generally don’t like snarky – you’d rather build something than destroy something, right? At the same time, when I’m in the snarky mood, I go full on. And of course, when that happen, I really enjoy the bravado. Otherwise how would I earn the title of contemporary art super-villain? Like in this piece for the Sunday Times of Malta, for which I love to put a desecrator of contemporary art attitude. You might say, making fun of contemporary art is way too easy, but I can’t help it; sometimes you just walk in an exhibition and you start rubbing your hands!
Published
My interview with Tunisian-born, Italy-based graphic journalist Takoua Ben Mohamed has just been published on Middle East Monitor with the title “Drawing her own story from Douz to Rome”.
“‘I don’t actually read that many comic books,’ laughs Takoua Ben Mohamed. ‘And I have never set foot in a comic book fair.’ Don’t mistake what she says for a snooty, ‘I don’t read comic books, I only make them.’ Make what you’d like to see in the world, they say. More broadly, make something that embodies what you want to see in the world, whatever the medium you choose. It just so happens that the world of speech bubbles and comic strips is Takoua’s cup of tea.”
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
The reason why I enjoy writing for the Australian/British magazine ArtsHub so much , is because it gives me the possibility to delve deeper into the media industries I’m working into. So here’s my piece number eight for this great webmagazine. Here I explore how online sharing has created new rules of exchange for artists who must find ways of converting followers who like their work into paying customers.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
Article number five for the Times of Malta! Here I talk with Australian artists Sonia Leber and David Chesworth, who are researching the Maltese community in St Albans, a suburb of Melbourne, for their new video projects called “One from Mosta, Two from Zabbar”. Having always worked with sound in their art, the duo was interested both in the technical aspect and the social valence on Spirtu Pront.
“The singing is extremely skillful, in a loud and tightly strained voice, exemplifying Malta’s dual Arabic and European influences.” they explain “The ritual incorporates a cadenza where everyone respectfully renounces their insults and emphatically reconfirms the need for friendship.” In their video project the artists are interested in presenting this form of singing ritualised arguments as a positive social force and as a metaphor for the resolution of conflict in the public space.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
British webmagazine Middle East Monitor has just published my article on Clandestine Integration. This project aims to foster dialogue between the African and the European shores of the Mediterranean by inviting artists to share a period on a sailing boat and creating original work on board.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
The Australian webmagazine RAVEN has just published my interview with Melbourne artist Sam Leach. I met Sam at Palazzo Bembo, in Venice, and we talked about the artist’s work in Personal Structures, a collateral exhibition to the Venice Biennale.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
The Australian webmagazine RAVEN has just published my interview with Melbourne artist Penny Byrne. I met Penny at Palazzo Franchetti, in Venice, and we talked about the artist’s work in Glasstress, an official Biennale satellite exhibition.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
Australian magazine Onya has just published my article on “No One Ever Leaves For Good: Australian Artists Making It Internationally”. In the piece I analyse the attitude and expectations of Australian artists and curators when it comes to exhibit overseas or move abroad. This article is part of my reportage/research on emerging artists in Melbourne.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
Uk/Aussie webmagazine ArtsHub has just published my article “Australia’s biggest year at Venice” about the Australian presence at the Venice Biennale 2015 – which is unprecedented in terms of numbers and critical success. It was great to see these talented artists exhibit in the one of the world’s most prestigious events and have a chat with them over coffee… or ice cream.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
Uk/Aussie webmagazine ArtsHub has just published my highlights from the 56th Venice Biennale. With so much good work around and so many interesting shows it has been difficult to narrow down my selection to ten… but here we go!
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
My article on Voyage Trokomod, Heri Dono’s work for the Venice Biennale, has just been published on Alias – the special edition of the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto – with the title “Between horse and Komodo dragon – the bestiary between east and west”. It is a great honour for me to contribute to Il Manifesto, which had such an important history! If you live in Italy I recommend you to grab a copy of Alias in the newsstands; this edition is all about the Biennale. I’ll be off to Venice next week and look forward to meet Heri and the curators from the Indonesian Pavilion in Venice.
Here’s the link to the online version of the article
For a thorough introduction to Indonesian contemporary art, have a look at my book (in Italian). Find more about it here.
Published! Interview with Reko Rennie on Global Comment
My interview with Australian artist Reko Rennie has just been published on the webmagazine Global Comment with the title “Aboriginal Royalty at the Venice Biennale: Interview with artist Reko Rennie”. This interview is part part of my research about artists in Melbourne.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More