In Search of Beauty

Chris Ebejer is one of those people who you feel at ease being around straight away. Humble, hard working, full of passion for what he does, and simply a delight to talk to. I was so glad we could meet at his workshop here in Malta, where I got to be around his works and see what new projects he’s started! We talk about life as an artist, the struggles, the joys, and perhaps most of all the importance of beauty in our everyday lives. 

How about we start with some background? Tell me a bit about yourself and how you started out as an artist. 

I’ve been a full time artist for around 11-12 years now. But before that I was always involved in one kind of artistic sector or another. I used to work with film production companies, when it comes to set-design, especially epic films. And so even there I was working within the artistic sector. I designed the set, props, recreated epic scenery which involved a lot of research too. It’s a different form of art really, but I think I was destined to focus on sculpture. 

Mmm, I see. But how did you find yourself on set-design? Did you want to study it in particular or was it something else? 

Well going back to 2001, I did ‘Julius Caesar’ and the year later ‘Helen of Troy’ and I have many fond memories of those times; they were both American TV series. I remember that someone had come up to me because they were looking for a sculptor - at that time I was unknown really, I would work on small private commissions but I was also in that phase in which you don’t know which direction you want to take. I had just completed my course in art, and you know how it is, you know the ideal world in which you work in art and the world, the sector is already difficult in itself, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. So when this opportunity came up, I took it. 

I worked at Fort Rinella, where we were building Imperial Rome. So I remember they had approached me because they wanted a sculptor who was taught in the Classical figure style - they were finding it difficult to find people and I believe the sculptors they found from Italy could not make it. So I started to work and create the sets, even though it has to be said that it’s not really creative art. 

How so? 

The pieces I do now and the ones I do for myself are creative because they’re coming from my imagination. Even commissions are creative, because I am still able to give my own interpretation to what the client wants. But on a film set I am there to faithfully reproduce, I was reproducing the masterpieces. 

Yes, I understand. But it’s a skill in its own right to be able to only replicate; a certain humility too?! 

Yes of course. And I was just emerging from artistic study, in which I had followed the Classical school. This means that I was freshly coming out of this formation which taught us how to draw the human anatomy - ears, body, proportions, everything - and here I was actualizing this teaching.  

Then I was in ‘Helen of Troy’ and they had entrusted me to create the horse of Troy which was something huge for me. I mean I was only 24 years old at the time and they had trusted me to do this, a major scene, I can say it’s the peak of the film. This was an adventure for me and it was a beautiful experience. The horse was intended for CGI (computer-generated imagery), something I hadn’t worked with before and it ended up being a spectacular scene. So what I had to do is create a small horse, which was then amplified onto a colossal scale. 

And to see that change must have been something special! 

Aha, and you’re still young, you know that this is a foreign production and they’ve put all their trust in you, supporting you...I felt that all that work and study was now bearing fruit, so to speak. And then I went onto another set, for a production called ‘A Different Loyalty’, which was my last film. We had to recreate a Lebanon market from the 1950s, and that we did at Fort St. Elmo. I stopped from films and I took the chance to think about what I wanted to do - I thought ‘okay, from the experience of these three films, I had fun; I learnt a lot especially when it came to things like deadlines, responsibility, teamwork because you’re working with a massive team-network, you know all the logistics along with the creative process…’ 

And that’s not always easy to do with a creative mindset. Because sometimes art cannot be forced, in a manner of speaking. 

Mmm, no. At least I was surrounded by many experts from different areas, such as production designers, scenography designers, camera-personnel, lighting designers, and they taught me a lot but also the experience taught me how to stay on the same level, as regards to the artistic work along with the logistics, the business side to it all. 

So, I took time to reflect and I realised I wanted to continue my career in films. I applied and was accepted for a course in Film Directing in Hollywood, it was a very beautiful experience. I studied acting, scriptwriting, direction, filming, there’s so much to say. We were based at Universal Studios, so we were able to use huge film sets and we were lucky enough to be able to use these film sets, from films that had already been shot, for our final thesis project. The environment was very professional, what can you say, in many ways the climate lends itself to be so. 

When I came back, it was a bit of a different story. I couldn’t get to grips here, I haven’t produced a film or written for the screen. I couldn’t find the right teamwork, even the mentality was totally different, I could see that I wasn’t going to manage. For example I had studied the traditional way by using the pellicola (film), but here everyone was using the digital camera. 

So I remember I had submitted artwork to be part of a symposium in China and they chose me, from 25 artists from around the globe. And this was at the same time that I was still in the States, so I had gone to China and spent two and a half months there, to develop the monument. That happened to be my first public monument, and it’s there in the largest monument park. That’s how I came back to sculpture, since once I was back I had commissions coming in. I accepted some commissions with the thought that I’d go abroad again, to the States or to Europe. But as the commissions kept on coming in I felt a sense of responsibility and in a way held down by them, so that’s when I decided to dedicate my time to the classical art. 

I started using bronze more, I took part in the competition for the Mater Dei statue and I won that, along with the Floriani one. So I found my rhythm again. 

So the road took you back to sculpture. 

Yes back to sculpture. 

Are you happy, or would you still like to try out something different? 

I’m happy, you know sculpture is a form of art in which you work alone, as opposed to the creation of films. And when you’re working with large teams you do need a sense of authority, and I think that was lacking in me; I was perhaps too humble and was finding it hard to control large groups. But here I can control myself and the material, so it’s very different. 

It’s me and the material. In this space I was feeling in equilibrium with everything else. 

In a way they are two very different realities, which you cannot compare. You know, even if you have this sense of authority and the ability to compromise because of the team, in art there is perhaps a sense of being in competition with yourself alone, if you want to see it that way, it’s always your choice. 

Yes, that’s it. I like the fact that I can control my environment and what I’m working with. Whereas with a cinematographic production you have a lot of characters, people who don’t get along, money is involved, there’s a lot of stress. I realised that in a way it didn’t fit into my character, I saw this even in a small way in America.     

And perhaps even if you don’t find the right team to support you. 

Yes you have to have a team, a support system, even skilled people who work in similar ways. So I really then wanted to focus on sculpture and I opened horizons with Italy. 

 You’re actually based in Italy most of the time though right? 

Well, I’m based here and in Pietrasanta (Lucca, Italy). The reason being that I work on my bronze pieces there, especially when it comes to large projects, I do them from there straight away. It’s easier than starting here and sending pieces because like that a lot more transportation is involved. But because of the situation this last year and three months I’ve been solely working from here. I’ve managed to do a few projects, I need to send a few up though so I’ll do that when I have a group of works ready to send together. 

Then you can go up and continue from there then. 

Yes. I’ll go up once things are clearer. Here I usually just take care of the concept, design and we have discussions about the work. I do models too and smaller pieces. The larger pieces I try to leave and complete in Pietrasanta. 

How lovely! Do you have phases of using one material and then shift to another? Because I’ve noticed you work with a variety of materials, from bronze, ceramics, terracotta, porcelain… 

Yes it’s true. Phases no, it really depends on the nature of the work, of the commission, of the artistic work. It even depends on where the work will be placed, these elements really determine the material. 

So how did the link with Italy actually come about? 

Well there was an old sculptor, who is no longer with us, and he had contacts with Pietrasanta. He had told me that he had done some work there, and when I was working on the Fisherman for St. Julian’s I decided to do it in Pietrasanta, even to experiment in a way with the environment. 

It’s a beautiful place, the town itself is small and elegant. It’s immersed in greenery with the Alps in the background. It’s very similar in size to our Mdina, there are a lot of skilled artisans and a lot of foreign artists go there. Very close to the town is Carrara, where Michaelangelo used to cut his blocks of marble from. So the ambience of the whole region is very artistic. 

I feel that Pietrasanta is a very special town, if we go back to the Etruscan times they were a very civilized and culturally-aware civilization, and we’re talking about the Tuscan region. Tuscany itself gave Italy its finest artists, the Renaissance and so the environment is very much an intrinsic part of who they are, of what inspires them. Even the architecture that these people left behind, is inspiring, is being lived by the people till today, and that is something you can feel. You feel that sense of connection - it’s alive - and they have developed because of this artistic background, even thanks to the nature that has always surrounded them. 

Does it change your inspiration? 

Oh yes! I am the kind of person who loves nature and being in nature. I think nature doesn’t only teach us certain principles and the roles of how things work in nature but it also helps with inspiration. Artists have always looked towards nature and transformed it, if you look at the Corinthian capital which was the Classical capital there’s the acanthus leaf, the ornaments on architecture are all taken from foliage, flowers, natural motifs and so nature plays an important role. And again in Pietrasanta there’s all this greenery, fertile land and it’s so picturesque. The opposite of what Malta has become. 

Quite! 

The way of life there is also calmer, quieter. Here I feel that it’s become too chaotic and less inspirational. Without being too harsh I feel that it’s become too noisy, even in our villages and so I am not as inspired as I once was. Even musicians need to hear nature, to help and for there to be some sort of balancing element - an equilibrium between himself and his spiritual soul to be able to create. Nowadays there are too many distortions and distractions. 

It’s as though this possibility becomes lost in the noise. 

The problem that I see is that people are adapting to this situation. And this is worrying because once you accept certain situations which should not be as they are, then… 

Where is the meaning? 

Then things will start to affect you differently. 

Yes, and I think that we see this in all spheres. This mentality that anything goes. If we can’t help but do this, because others have done it, then we’ll do it too, in a way. 

Aha. That’s it. It’s a system of acceptance, I’m not sure how else to put it. It’s like everyone is saying ‘It’s okay we accept this as it is’. No, it’s not alright. Silence and quiet matters to me! 

Only with silence and stillness can I be inspired. As artists we are not artisans; an artisan is producing something, an artist creates something. This is a common mistake we make even in our language when we say that the artist ‘ipproduċa’ (produced), we should be saying ‘ikkreajaha’ (created). Creation is the passage through which an original piece emerges, as opposed to producing something many times over. There’s emotion, thought, experimentation and inspiration involved in creation. This is not to say that there isn’t skill involved in artisanship because you can also differentiate between high and low level production. So even in artisanship there is a hierarchy. 

Nowadays just because someone creates or produces something then they are artists, but this is not the case. There is still the difference between an artisan and an artist, yet we can differentiate what takes skill and talent in both. 

Yes, it’s in many ways Art or art. 

Yes and nowadays we are losing this notion of what is art and what is artisan - everything is being mixed. 

Yes, this even came up in a conversation with Anna Galea. I think we are losing this ability to differentiate between real art. 

There’s a lot to say when it comes to art, and art is not always done with the intention to send a message. I still uphold Classical principles - that art needs to transmit beauty. So when you see a Classical Greek sculpture, when you look at the Renaissance, the Baroque, they all focus on beauty. Beauty of the body, of proportion, the beauty of the body, the beauty of ornament, elegance…I still conserve in myself these principles. I think we’ve had enough shocks, and when ugliness is increasing everywhere, we need more beauty, in my opinion. We need something to calm the senses, something that can really take you beyond, so we need to search for beauty even more, to even look back and re-discover the principles of what makes a beautiful work of art. 

Yes I agree, and you know I see this happening in language too. We have so many conversations that lead nowhere, that have been going on for years because they are usually negative and cyclical rather than conversations that offer solutions, for example. So why not create new conversations, new topics to move on from what’s keeping us in a loop, that will create better realities. I think it’s similar because in many ways what we are exposed to (whether art or discussion), we go on to actualize and emulate; so perhaps if we saw more beauty we would be more inclined to act and create through beauty. You also talk about the transcendent and sense of aesthetic, and how important they are to your creations. You even call it your “moral obligation” as an artist. 

That is my principle and so not everyone would uphold such a belief. The reason behind this is that when you see such civilizations as the Etruscans, the Romans, they always looked for beauty - for their own means and reasons, but it was always a search for beauty. I felt, and feel, I have this responsibility to be a continuation of this tradition. With all the limits - limited commissions, space and so on - I will continue. I want to be able to pass it on to our generation and to future generations. 

It is time for more beauty in our life and in our art. We need to look back at the basics and perhaps even principles that we haven’t considered as priorities. 

That’s very true. How do you feel that your art depicts the transcendent? Because in the moment of creation, you must feel it yourself. There must be this sense of recognition from your end, but does the observer feel it too? 

I receive many comments and many of them show appreciation, so they must be feeling it. They must be feeling something that they can relate to. At many points there is this exclamation of beauty, of “Oh! How beautiful!”, so that I can see and feel that it has left an emotional reaction, and that’s the beauty. That they express through emotion is much better than an articulate sentence or an intellectual response. It’s rather more genuine to me. Sometimes an intellectual explanation can be given to something which does not have an intellectual meaning, but the emotion is raw and it’s enough. So yes I believe it is leaving that effect. 

There is a certain flowingness to your work, a motion, a certain movement within the staticness or rather solidity of sculpture, which is very calming. 

Yes, people have mentioned this to me before. I do try to find that flow, resembling the sweet flow of the stream or the wind blowing the leaves in a meadow. I think we have too many storms, too much chaos in our lives as it is, so my work tries to transmit what I would like to see. It’s not necessarily that case that my life is so flowing or calm but at least through my art I transmit this idealism that I would love to see around me. I’m not sure if I’ve explained myself well enough. 

Yes, of course and as we were saying some things cannot be explained as such, there are no words, but I do understand your meaning. Perhaps it is even something that you do unconsciously as an artist and not always with intention. 

Mhm, but I have been made aware of it. Especially the Italians, they will come up to you and use words such as ‘piacevole’, ‘eleganza’, ‘tenerezza’, docile, that give you this sense of grace and softness to the pieces. I want to be able to transmit these elements, in many ways that touch our soul, our spirit. At least through art we are able to touch such beauty and transmit it to others. 

And perhaps once we are exposed to it even more, we will be able to increasingly appreciate it in our own lives - if in nature, in the people around us who we might take for granted - perhaps it becomes easier not to take these things for granted once you’re exposed to them. 

Aha, and as I said I do try to move away from the art that is turbulent, shocking and perhaps very heavy because we do have too much heaviness in our lives as it is. 

Sometimes my art is criticised because it does not reflect the times we are living in. But why does art need to reflect our present time? So that if we are producing a lot of ugliness, a lot of chaos why shouldn’t art serve as a reaction against that?! I believe that art can and has to be such a reaction. As the philosopher and art critic Roger Scruton said many times when it comes to aesthetics, I find that I resonate with a lot of his beliefs. We now need a reaction against ugliness. 

Yes most definitely, and this phase of ugliness has been going on for a while now. So you’ve mentioned Roger Scruton, who else was a mentor to you?      

Yes Scruton was one; he was someone I could identify myself with a lot - thoughts and philosophy. In the beginning of my career Walt Disney was of much inspiration to me. From nothing it was as though he was able to create this whole surreal world, and even after his death this world keeps on leaving an impact upon millions of people and different generations.  

When it comes to artists there’s Auguste Rodin and also Bernini, who I really love and inspires me. There’s Leonardo Bistolfi too who inspires me in my artistic work. 

Does this artistic flair run in your family? Was this in a way passed on to you? 

Ah, no. No one in my family really passed this on, I just followed my instinct. I have to say that my family made it very easy for me to follow what I wanted, from when I was very young. They realised that I preferred to make things rather than play or be involved in sports and they allowed me to do what I was good at, even though in its nature sculpture is messy, creates dirt, you know a lot of dust and such. They never complained. 

The fact that they made it so easy was very important. I have noticed that perhaps because of certain restrictions placed upon young children, some talents have been choked, so to speak - killed off. 

Yes, that is true.   

Creating something out of nothing was always my pastime. I realise now that it was my instinct - to do this and not that. Eventually it developed into a form of art, but I can say that I was always more attracted to the creative side of things. 

In your work you seem to merge the classic with the modern. Was this always something you did or is it something that you’ve developed over the years? 

My formative base was very traditional, so very much based on the Classical and the history of art. So I started with Classical copies, you know you first imitate, and here I’m talking about when I was 14-18 more or less. Then the journey shifts, and I started the phase in which I could be more adventurous. I could start creating something of my own - rather than be mathematically focused on reproducing or imitating a Classical masterpiece. There is this urge to do something of your own, there has to be. 

Then you start to experiment, so I would create a work that is mine but on the Classical style. But then why did I mix the classical with the modern? The answer is because I always saw that even with the artists of the past, you can take the Etruscans, the Romans, the Greeks…Renaissance, Baroque, they always looked back at artists of the past and would interpret these Classical formations according to their own time. So I thought I would do the same. I could be inspired by the movement of the Baroque, the elegance of the Renaissance, the power that lies within Greek sculpture and I’d interpret them within today’s context. All I’d be doing is continuing the tradition of those who have come before me. 

My Bavaria collection is exactly that. I interpreted the grandness of the Baroque in the Bavarian churches, in a simple modern way. There’s also a mix between the matteness of the black background and the lucidity of the white glaze, for added contrast. 

You can see this happening in Meditteranean Myth and Meditteranean Legend. The two make up one piece of art. The figures are very much inspired by the Classical Greek figures, their hands are broken off, lost; which adds to the mystery. So I was inspired by the Greek, then there is the Baroque leaf which creates movement. I named them Myth and Legend, because I wanted to link Myth with the masculine and Legend with the female; that’s why for Myth you have the mollusc which is very sharp and goes with the detail of the masculine figure, and for Legend you have the delicate arzella. So you have the link to the sea, the sea that creates such myths, the Greek context, all these elements working together. 

Many times I don’t know what style you can say my works are because they’re a mixture. They have certain Classical influences with a modern presentation. 

Even these, they are two caricatures. Caricatures are often seen on newspapers, but I wanted to experiment and create something new. These are Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette! So you have the ‘le Roi Soleil’, you know very pompous and very much surrounded by riches and extravagance, and then Marie Antoinette who was also known for all this and being vain. 

Haha! These are simply exquisite, I love them! 

These are very different from my usual style. 

But you did them for yourself, or were they commissioned?  

These were not commissioned no, and neither were the previous ones. I divide my time between creating personal pieces and doing commissioned works. So these are works which will then go in for exhibitions, which I hold from time to time, usually around every 2 years. I really enjoyed creating this porcelain series - every piece was done individually and fired twice, it’s a longish process and at the same time you don’t always know what you’re going to end up with. Then I can see how to create movement and put everything together at the end. It’s like I have 60% of an idea of how they’re going to turn out, but it’s a very random process really because something like this I can only bring together after the second phase in the kiln. 

So your process doesn’t start with a sketch then? 

Actually I never do any preliminary drawings. When I draw it’s usually for projects that require permission, for them to then be able to give the go ahead, or when someone wants to see what you have in mind. But for myself I don’t go through that process, those creations are allowed their creative process till the end. For me it’s very much like a journey, because the idea itself may change. 

For a commission or a public work of art, you have to stick with approximately the approved model, but with mine I have more freedom. 

It’s the unknown up till the last moment. 

Aha. These butterfly models are also very close to my heart! They were intended for public works but then I hadn’t submitted them. 

That’s a pity they are very beautiful… 

They would have been intended to be quite large, you know very high, anyways… but you can see that the sculpture changes from one angle to another, so you have this sense of movement and elegance. They were inspired by our traditional lace patterns. Even since the light passes through, creating different shadows. 

I’ve found that these public commissions have become too bureaucratic. When I inquired because my work was not accepted for a project, I was disappointed because it wasn’t for reasons to do with artistic importance, many of them have no artistic sensibility and so they choose proposals I feel more because of size and cost rather than aesthetics. Or they tell you that it was because you don’t explain yourself enough - sometimes the art work is enough. Art should be judged on artist merits, not these issues. Especially when it comes to public works on roundabouts and the like - who is going to stop to see the explanation, all people want to see is something beautiful, something that puts a smile on their face as they drive by and they think ‘How beautiful’. That’s it.  

That emotion should be enough, the aesthetic should be able to talk for itself. 

Yes, we are now trapped in these bureaucratic situations. Unfortunately art is thus becoming a bit more complicated when it comes to public calls and commissions. I can write an essay on what my art means - but why? - especially knowing and understanding the context in which it is going to be placed. So much passion goes into these concepts and creations that then it’s disappointing. But anyways. 

This is Pietro Paolo Floriani, I did this when I was 27 years old - the founder of Floriana. Then I have the statues which are at the entrance of the Monte Christo estates; the Life and Youth monument in Qrendi; then in 2007 I created the Mater Dei one. Then I have this one, it’s quite beautiful and it would have been a revolutionary monument for Malta as we do not have anything like it. I started working on it for Xagħra (Gozo), because they celebrate the feast of Marija Bambina, and so this model combined the Great Siege (1565) and the victory of WWII (1942); but it never materialized. 

It really links everything together, it would be great to see it materialize into a monument on our islands.   

I really love this one, it’s my latest monument, it is at the MUT (Malta Union of Teachers). I wanted to combine education with other elements. So I started with the idea of a door, since education opens up new prospects, new doors and there is this sense of transformation. This is also why I chose the butterfly - through education there’s also this journey and transformation that one goes through, just like from a caterpillar we then have the butterfly. This is what education does. Since it was going into a garden I wanted to create something quiet, peaceful. When you look at it, it gives you that sense of ease, tranquillity.

What advice would you give to anyone starting out, whether it be in sculpture or even in the arts? 

What advice...well it’s very simple - visit museums. Art is something that you need to absorb before you can capture. Visiting museums will nurture you and create that spark, for the artist or even the collector. Because even for a collector, all they might need is that motivation to start collecting beauty - so this goes for any creative person. Simply stand in front of magnificent works of art, experience that magical moment. I never really had formal teachers, so museums and galleries were what enhanced my spirit - the emotion is out of this world, there is no comparison to seeing them in books. Visit beautiful and also historical places to grow in their sense of affinity and these things will lead you to somewhere new - whether to be an artist, collector, enthusiast - you start from there. 

Look for beauty, always. 

Perhaps when we think about it, we are all in search of beauty. Beauty in that which is aesthetically pleasing, in that which gives pleasure and joy, the simple things in nature and when with others which put a smile on our face … these are the things which elevate us, which elevate our days. In Chris’ works there is much of this implicit value felt and conveyed to the viewer … if we only open our eyes and mind to beauty.    

Details 

Chris’ website: chrisebejer.com/    

We mentioned the writer, philosopher and art critic Roger Scruton, here’s his website and there are many of his videos online too: roger-scruton.com/