Portrait of Victor Agius

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Victor Agius is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in sculpture, painting, video, performance, and installation. He graduated from the University of Malta in 2004, and moved on to Perugia, Italy to continue his studies, followed by Central Saint Martin’s College for Art and Design in London, UK. Agius is co-founder of Ars Vitae Ensemble and a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta. His works have been exhibited at the National Museum of Fine Arts and at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta, at the UNESCO World Heritage site Ġgantija temples, at the Mdina Cathedral, at The Royal Theatre in Valletta, at St Agatha’s Catacombs in Rabat, at The Mill – Art, Culture and Crafts Centre, and in local and international galleries including St Eufemia Gallery in Venice, the Lauba Gallery in Zagreb, Eduardo Secci Gallery in Florence, the Ceramic Context in Bornholm Art Museum in Denmark, and the Feanza Prize at the Museo Internazionale della Ceramica in Faenza, Italy. His practice demonstrates “a direct affinity with the earth and the natural elements” as well as “continuous research on primitive rudiments and rituals and man’s incessant rapport with nature, time and his own existence”. Here he speaks with Ann Dingli about his two-week exhibition at Valletta Contemporary (VC).

Ann Dingli (AD): It feels natural to start by asking if you believe your practice has a place in the wider canon of Land Art? If yes, can you talk about how and why it belongs there; if no, can you explain why it’s different?

Victor Agius (VA): My mixed media works and interventions in a way have always tried to connect on multiple layers associated with a sense of place, time and matter. I remember creating and playing with clay in my father’s studio, and with mud in the non-asphalted streets during the winters of the mid-80s. For me the prehistoric megalith constructions on our islands, as well as the ochre decorations both locally and in caves around Europe, were already Land Art or earth works thousands of years before the recent works of the 60s and 70s of Richard Long, Michael Heizer, Andy Goldsworthy and the others. I became more aware of these artists when I was studying in London and experienced the work of Richard Long at the Royal Academy.  

I believe that although the aesthetic of many of my works seem familiar with works of Land Art, it is the ambience of the prehistoric Ġgantija Temples and the Gozitan rugged countryside of my childhood that sparked my interest to use nature – both as a medium and as a concept. My practice, whilst using earthy materials, strives to dialogue with the notions of ritual, time, spirituality in nature, and men’s preoccupation with consumption.

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AD: Your training began in Malta, and then took you to London via Perugia. How did each of these places inform the evolution of your work? In London, you studied at Central Saint Martins, known to be strong on conceptual and experimental training – how did that seep into your seemingly very tactile, intuitive practice?

VA: My first art school was my father’s sculpture studio in Gozo. I frequented the art classes of the late Maltese artist, Harry Alden, for several years.  My art education degree at university included many areas of study about the history of art. We also had some practical credits involving painting, pottery, etching, sculpture, fresco paintings, figure drawing and other traditional techniques. In Perugia, the emphasis was more on classical and Italian renaissance, traditional techniques and working directly from models. In London, the experience was a very intense one, in which contemporary art practice was the main area of my study. Our lecturers challenged us continuously to reflect on our existing approach and practice in a highly inquisitive manner. We had several experiences in galleries across London, complemented by crits, curators and artist talks at the college. It was also my first opportunity to see the works of Richard Long and Giuseppe Penone at the Royal Academy.