Gabriel Buttigieg: Sheela/Sansun(a) – Bridging Islands review: A cross-cultural reflection on motherhood
Gabriel Buttigieg: Sheela/Sansun(a): Bridging Islands
Ton Gallery, Dublin
★★★★☆
Primordial themes of fertility, birth and motherhood take on fresh meaning in the work of the Maltese artist Gabriel Buttigieg, whose unexpected pairing of two woman figures at once transcends time and borders.
Taking inspiration from Ireland's tradition of sheela-na-gigs and Malta's folkloric giantess Sansuna, Buttigieg has created a vibrant exhibition of expressionist paintings that celebrate both cultures' historic reverence for the divine feminine.
As its name suggests, the exhibition – a refined selection of work featuring five acrylic paintings and a limestone sculpture – is concerned with 'bridging islands', an idea first posited by its curator, AnneMarie Saliba.
The original meaning of the sheela-na-gig – found standing or squatting in an act of display with spread thighs revealing an exaggerated vulva – has been disputed by academics.
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Sheela (Papi) by Gabriel Buttigieg
Sheela. Sans (Metallica) by Gabriel Buttigieg
Dating back to the pre-Christian period, these stone carvings have been interpreted by some as a pagan source of talismanic powers that bring good luck and fertility, or alternatively, as a warning against lust. Today, Sheela is often viewed as a symbol of
empowerment
.
According to Maltese legend, Sansuna was a giantess who carried megaliths across the island of Gozo. With her half-human, half-giant child slung across one shoulder and a slab of stone balancing on her head, she constructed the Ggantija temples.
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Project Sheela: International Women's Day art trail highlights Ireland's 'open wounds'
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In doing so, Sansuna joined a long lineage of multitasking mothers. This enormous complex promised to summon rain and fertility.
Buttigieg's thoughtful exploration of motherhood hinges on personal observations of his partner Estelle's care for her son. 'This exhibition wouldn't exist if the universe hadn't sent them to me,' he told those gathered at the intimate gallery for its launch.
Sheela (Tan-Napli) by Gabriel Buttigieg
Shuna Sansuna. (Super Mario) by Gabriel Buttigieg
There is an intentional child-like quality to the works, which are bursting with playful inscriptions and Easter eggs. The inclusion of letters, phrases and numbers with meaning to Buttigieg playfully evoke a child's early years.
This is complemented by primitive cave markings, including copies of etchings found in Irish and Maltese caves, seen most prominently in Sheela. Sansuna (La Vela). Modern language and imagery taken from video games and films provides juxtaposition, as seen in Shuna Sansuna (Super Mario).
The interweaving of primitive storytelling devices and forms of entertainment with more recent technological advancement causes one to reflect on the changing nature of childhood, and in turn motherhood. In doing so, Buttigieg deftly illuminates how such universal and timeless experiences have become subject to immense transformation.
Andy Sheela by Gabriel Buttigieg
Bright hues of pink, blue and orange dominate the paintings, catching the eye and further enhancing their innocent child-like appeal. This wave of intense colour is broken up by the placement of a pale stand-alone sculpture, Andy Sheela, composed of Globigerina limestone, which is synonymous with Malta's landscape.
Metamorphosis, the sense of changing and being changed, is the spirit of Buttigieg's work. Sheela/Sansun(a): Bridging Islands offers a glimpse of the child's inner world in a unique convergence of cultural iconography.
Sheela/Sansun(a): Bridging Islands is at
Ton Gallery
, Dublin, until Thursday, June 26th
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