Martina Farrugia is a designer based between Malta and the Netherlands. She has a background in art history, archeology and digital art. Her current work tackles the importance of narrative, acts of collecting, archiving and reconstructive memory. Throughout her artistic practice, clay is often used as a medium of translation in order to understand acts of memory and thoughts of collective history.
Conversations with the Sun - ‘Conversations with the Sun’ is a short film that Farrugia shot in-between Malta, The Netherlands and Tenerife. This is the first video work she has produced; it is a study of dry landscapes, orbs of light and reflections in everyday materials, all coming from the sun. Links are made between each clip, where shimmering reflections in water, sun rays and bulbs of light collectively begin to resemble a unified source of energy. This visual diary resembles the idea of field notes, pastes of videos collaged together to better understand these ongoing observations.
Thinking of the colour red, remembering those hazy instances with swirling images that appear when shutting your eyes in the sunlight. The longer you stay with your eyes shut, the more entranced you become. In a way, aren’t these conversations with the sun?
All footage was taken by Martina Farrugia
Music: ‘THE SUN WAKES YOU UP’ by Miguel Herreras
I long to hear stories of your past - By observing family photographs, Farrugia built an archive of images, recounting Malta’s historical narrative through these personal scenes within the family home and beyond. This act of collecting visual artefacts unveils the activity of constructing history and our perception of it. The work recreates a singular item present in each image. Each ceramic piece mirrors an interpretation of the original object still trying to capture the essence of the everyday items, much like a blurred memory. The objects also provide an insight into Malta’s changing social history, while also observing the many changes and milestones experienced by the Maltese population.
More information: https://martinafarrugia.cargo.site/ILTHSOYP
Anything not saved will be lost - 'Anything not saved will be lost’ was an interactive treasure hunt that moved from the MaMA showroom space into the real world of Witte de Withstraat. An online manual was placed within the showroom, providing visual representations of each object that is hidden within the vicinity of the space. The primary goal for each participant was to find a single item, with hints and clues available on the online guide. The images and videos on the online manual, created using photogrammetry, gave a sense of ‘deteriorating memory’ and a need to digitally document these objects before they disappear. Each object that was chosen for this treasure hunt is made from ceramic stoneware clay, representing common household items discarded in Rotterdam's streets that await for a new owner. Once the participant located their item, it became their possession, and they were free to take it home.
Mothers Archive - A collection of archival scans and ceramics featured in 'Art vs Craft', an exhibition shown at Chrysalid, Rotterdam (2022).
a.k.a MaMA - a.k.a. MAMA is Team MAMA’s showcase—a platform for all current and former Team MAMA members to share their artistic practices. The aim of the project was to show Rotterdam what MAMA is and highlight the people who make MAMA possible by giving them the opportunity to take over the showroom on the Witte de Withstraat for ten days.
Martina’s ongoing work revolves around photography, ceramics, collecting and archiving. By investigating these practices in parallel, connections are built between them. Her Bachelor thesis ‘In Reenactment’ (2021) compiles different forms of information, in different states: found objects consisting of images, letters, videos, jewelry, and garments. A virtual digital environment was constructed to preserve the found objects, building a fictional narrative in the process. The fictional narrative focused on the characters that are visible in the found images, creating possible scenarios and lives they could have lived through this digital archive.
In a similar way, this piece is a further exploration to this theme; Bending the limitations of the art institution, a poster-like rug is seen in the MaMA showroom, with a map of images that hangs from the wall and cascades onto the floor. The images include found documentation from Martina’s personal archive but also a few shots that have been taken by herself. On the floor, next to the poster, lie trinket-like ceramics. These ceramic pieces are a recreation of the objects that can be spotted in the images, but only the essence of the form can be seen in the ceramic recreations.
This archival practice of collecting images and objects harnesses a responsibility to construct history, or our perception of it. Through curated fragments, ceramic replicas from past memories are capable of telling a narrative that could also be taken home with the viewer. This installation looks towards alternative methods of story-telling and creates an extension of the experience that is witnessed by the observer.
Exhibition Photographer: Alexander Wolf
In Reenactment - Martina’s bachelor thesis ‘In Reenactment’ (2021) compiles different forms of information, in different states: found objects consisting of images, letters, videos, jewellery, and garments. A virtual digital environment was constructed to preserve the found objects, building a fictional narrative in the process.
All photographs below are taken and found by Martina Farrugia.
