To “Up/Root” means to pull up by the roots or to displace someone or something from a place or traditional habitat. The four artists, Andrew Inguanez, Daniel Mifsud, Shania Camenzuli, and Stefan Spiteri are utilising introspective methods of working, which are not dissimilar to the process of uprooting. Consequently, this process is helping the four artists reveal and uncover elements that are otherwise hidden and concealed.

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Within the exhibition space, visitors are invited to embark on a thought-provoking journey in which each artist is presenting a distinct perspective on the term “Up/Root”. Whether the four artists are contemplating the surrounding environment or their identities or psychological states, dual elements such as ‘inside/outside', ‘under/over’, 'reality/fiction’ are all common roots that connect the works together.

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This exhibition bears witness to the transformative ability of art to unveil hidden truths. These hidden truths are bared and presented to the viewer as subconscious landscapes, fictitious worlds, and soul-revealing portraits. "Up/Root" aims to ignite conversations and encourages a deeper exploration of the universal human experience in whatever shape or form it may take.

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'HONESTY WITH WILDER GAZE’ - Andrew Inguanez

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This is an experimental self-portraiture project which serves as an instrument to reach self-liberation from heteronormative expectations relating to sexuality, gender identity and self-expression. This is achieved mainly through a process of transformation: from photographic documentation of the physical self, to detail-subtractive gel plate image transfer prints, to painting and analogue collage-making. The final artworks feel and appear explosive as the artist fully embraces his queerness and femininity.

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'DEREALISATION' - Daniel Mifsud

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The work featured in “Derealisation Explored Through Drawing” seeks to represent a distorted reality, gathering inspiration from the depths of the human psyche and embodying thoughts and emotions through drawing. This introspective exploration merges abstraction and reality, tapping into the realm that sits in between, resulting in surreal, unsettling compositions.

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'HIVE' - Shania Camenzuli

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‘Hive’ is primarily derived from the fact that humans and their way of living could be subject to unpredictable environmental changes, such as the drastic increase in the oriental hornet population in the local context. Instigated by this primary thought, the project portrays alternate dimensions as well as the dualities of under/over and reality/fiction. By grounding the images within the natural and immediate world, the viewer is encouraged to question and interpret the narrative.

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‘TRACE FOSSILS' - Stefan Spiteri

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A trace fossil provides indirect evidence of the life of ancient plants or animals. These paintings, just like trace fossils, are evidence of a past gesture of which only a mark remains. A trace fossil is a bracing of space by a vanished body, in which absence serves as a sign of a lived life. We have amplified our ability to shape the world around us, consequently the landscapes we are making now will eventually sink into strata in the under land, becoming the sediment of the future. While our presence in this world eventually disappears, our imprint endures.