Anti-atlas 2, The Horizon of my

Body / reliefs and fossils

Malin Tivenius and Ylva Westerhult residence project in Gozo, Malta, Spazju Kreattiv.

Before we traveled to Gozo we formulated our thoughts in this short synopsis:

In literature images of landscapes are often use to explain interior human condition. The environments and landscapes become the medium for personal consideration of how the boundaries are clear, while dissolved by different cultural expressions moving across geographic territories. The artists are collaborating in the work-in- progress project ”Anti- Atlas” . In this project they work with the topic identity, borders and social structure. There research on the Maltese islands is based on personal observations, meetings and encounters with a number of people from specific fields.

One thing that became very important for us in the meeting with the Gozo landscape was the material limestone. All around the island where the ocean meets land goes a line that seems to be in constant change. The sea and the wind never stops forcing against the rock that slowly gives in and moves. In that process comes an infinite variation of forms. If you look closely at the rock walls you find thousands of objects that reminds of the living species that once long time ago shared our view, even though it may have looked different to them. I think of all tiny fossils hiding in the soft limestone. Fossil makes me think of my own body in relation to time and change.

We also discovered that limestone is the main building material in Gozo. The clear connection through limestone, between untouched land and city landscape became an entry to our artistic process.

We have worked on making negative moulds of the ”landscape” and then combined them with negative moulds of parts of our bodies, and also moulds of body-close objects. We have worked with plaster, made excursions to selected places where we mixed and laid out the plaster on the ground or rock to be brought back to the studio in Gharb where we continued the work, casting plaster on ourself and other objects.

We feel that this combination of things, body and land gives an idea of erasing the border to ones surroundings, a way of getting close. Our finished works reminds of fossils and they are inspired by the cliff environment along the coast and in the landscape of Gozo. We want to refer to time’s power to transform everything but also to a longing for something permanent.

One of the places we visited and worked at is a closed limestone quarry outside of Gharb district. One reason this place became so important is that the contrast of untouched and cultivated land was so clear. The human impact is clearly visible and different forms of material appears. The fact that the quarry is closed down is obvious because the movements of nature has already reoccupied the area.

Another place where we chose to work was out in the ditch by the farm roads that lead out in the fields around Gozo. This place was near the residence, in San Lawrenz. The farm roads have been used in generations by farmers to get to their land. Our presence wasn’t seen happily. After setting the castings by the roadsides, and the work took longer time than expected, we had to leave the moulds over night. When we came to bring back the moulds they were smashed to pieces. We gathered the pieces as best as we could and glued them together. This was an obstacle that created a time-consuming and demanding job.