Thursday 28 March 2024

Norbert F. Attard in Spanish exhibition

The exhibition celebrating the 5th anniversary of Galeria Nuble, which runs until 20 October in Santander, Spain, proposes a specific plant , Ligustrum Vulgare, as an object, as a concept, in order to develop a project around the ideas of celebration and growth, in the same way as the gallery project has developed and grown over the years.

The concept initiates with the plant, indigenous to both Europe andNorth Africa, producing blackberries which are poisonous if consumed by humans, yet may be eaten by thrushes. These particular birds eat the seeds of the berry and release these seeds following digestion. These seeds produce new plants, hence the relationship between plant and bird is a symbiotic one as both support each others’ existence. One type of thrush, the Blue Rock Thrush, is Malta’s national bird which is relevant to the artist being of Maltese origin. In Maltese, this bird is known as Il-Merill. One may perceive this thrush, an intermediary tool for the dispersal of the Ligustrum Vulgare. All the elements ‘grow together’, the plant with the bird. Thus the thrush spreads the growth of the plant.

Norbert Francis Attard’s sculpture works with aspects of nature and their relevance to a national identity. The images of both the male and the female Blue Rock Thrush are set on wooden sticks, giving the impression that they have grown out from the ground, a layer of 10mm thick styrofoam, in which they are set. Spread across the latter surface are seeds from the Ligustrum Vulgare. The spot-lighted piece highlights the direct relationship between the birds and the seeds which results in the creation of the named plant.

 

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