As I’m running around Singapore collecting interviews, attending vernissages and getting lost in shopping malls, Escape – the Sunday magazine of the Times of Malta – has just published my interview with Elizabeth Pisani author of the travelogue “Indonesia etc.” (the Italian version was published here).
Here is the link for the interview
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For Escape – the Times of Malta’s Sunday magazine – I cover sensitive issues that are or have been in the art-related news. The news are for me a starting point for reflections, and this time around I couldn’t help to associate the polemics around contemporary Southafrican artist Kentridge’s murales on the walls of the Tiber, with self-righteous grassroots movement in the capital.
Of course what everything comes down to is a philosophical stance, spelled out by Kentridge himself: “Everyone’s triumphs and glories are someone else’s laments and shamefulness”
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I have been following Azerbaijan’s exploits in the contemporary art world for quite a while now, and it has been interesting to look at the backstory behind their success. The opportunity for doing so was given to me by this great and dramatic show by Azerbaijan artist Faig Ahmed at MACRO, Rome.
The show was food for thought itself – confronted with this melting traditional carpets it was impossible to leave Zygmunt Bauman and Aldous Huxley out of the equation. I have written the story for Escape, the Sunday edition of the Times of Malta.
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Times of Malta’s Sunday magazine Escape has published my review on Fotografia, the international photography festival of Rome. It was good fun to write it – and if you are wondering how the selfie mentioned in the article actually looks like, look no further.
Article number five for the Times of Malta! Here I talk with Australian artists Sonia Leber and David Chesworth, who are researching the Maltese community in St Albans, a suburb of Melbourne, for their new video projects called “One from Mosta, Two from Zabbar”. Having always worked with sound in their art, the duo was interested both in the technical aspect and the social valence on Spirtu Pront.
“The singing is extremely skillful, in a loud and tightly strained voice, exemplifying Malta’s dual Arabic and European influences.” they explain “The ritual incorporates a cadenza where everyone respectfully renounces their insults and emphatically reconfirms the need for friendship.” In their video project the artists are interested in presenting this form of singing ritualised arguments as a positive social force and as a metaphor for the resolution of conflict in the public space.
Here’s the link to the article
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I have been writing for magazines since 2007, but the excitement to see my articles out in the world never wears out! So here I am again on the Sunday edition of the Times of Malta. This piece is about Memorie Urbane, one of the biggest street art festivals in Europe, which takes place all over the Lazio region in Italy. I recently had a chat with Festival’s founder-curator and cultural entrepreneur Davide Rossillo.
Here’s the link to the article
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Introducing my Times of Malta article number three! It’s really great the main newspaper of this gorgeous island gives me the chance to write about big names in the art world (you might remember my pieces on Marina Abramovic and Shaun Gladwell) with such freedom. It’s sometimes hard to keep down the world count, but I can’t complain! This time I interview British artist Eddie Peake about his new show in Rome, called “A Historical Masturbators” currently on display at Lorcan O’Neill gallery.
Here’s the link to the interview
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The Times of Malta has just published my article on Shaun Gladwell’s performance featuring BMX champion Matti Hemmings at Artissima Art Fair in Turin.
“It was actually quite enjoyable to see Shaun Gladwell’s high-brow/low-brow performance. I liked this idea that art is made to be used and experienced. I started imagining Shaun sitting in a pub with Hemmings, bouncing off ideas before a beer. ‘Man, let’s climb the Mont Blanc, let’s spend the whole winter in Brazil, let’s make a performance with you riding Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel. And let’s make that pretentious crowd at Artissima watch it!’ ”
Here’s the link to the online version of the magazine
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The Times of Malta has just published my review of Marina Abramovic’s 512 Hours performance at the Serpentine Gallery, London.
I’m very happy to have the article published on the leading Malta’s newspaper, because that is where my favourite comic book character Corto Maltese is from!
“When being tucked in for the last time as a kid – I must have been five years old or thereabouts – I couldn’t have imagined the next person to pop me under the bed sheets fondly would be one of the most famous performers in contemporary art: Marina Abramovich…”
Here’s the link to the online version of the magazine
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Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
