Born in 1994, and raised in Malta, I have always pursued a life in art. I graduated from the University of Malta with a BFA in Digital Arts in 2016, which was a touch over-shadowed by the sudden loss of my mother. This experience brutally taught me that life is too short to be squandered in an office.
A year later I held my debut solo exhibition “Epokaliss – The Presence of Absence” which I dedicated to mum, opening on what would’ve been her 48th birthday at Palazzo Ħamsa Mill. Since then I’ve gone on to exhibit at the Royal Botanical Gardens of Madrid by the Maltese Embassy, and at MUŻA, the Maltese National Fine Arts Gallery.
Aside from selling my art, I support myself by offering my design & illustration services, creating and selling goods on test.rafiott.com, and hosting pop-up events around the island to share my work. On occasion, I also collaborate on shows with performers such as Undine LaVerve & Bella Stardust, and NGOs that have a creative flair and shared values.
My paintings tend to start off as emotions that need to externalising. Being synesthetic, I primarily interpret the world through shape, colour and texture, then transpose it to text. Painting allows me to convey my thoughts more purely, each work a window into a particular musing or frustration, commonly both simultaneously.
Though my style continues to evolve, certain elements remain true: my focus on flowing linework, architectural references, the themes of identity & loss, carefully crafted colour stories and a sense of observationalism. My experience in life has led me to my style of practice. Being raised by academics within a creative, neurodivergent family skewed my perception of the norm – something I learnt to enjoy. Surrealism continues to be my preferred coping mechanism, as life in Malta grows in absurdity – to a point where the line between journalism and satire is becoming indiscernible.
I put my work out both as a form of therapy, and activism – the Maltese public is not commonly faced with an accurate representation of its culture or heritage, especially not one that aspires to inspire change through tenderness.
I invite viewers to inspect my work closely to find all the hidden details and references, some they will probably understand, others too personal to pick up on. Viewers will notice a recurrence of typography, typically as a solitary detail that needs to be homogeneously communicated, and eye motifs – representing my position in life as an observer with limited agency on the world around me. You can tell a lot about what I think is beautiful through my work: I have a casual obsession with eclectic local architecture, am fascinated by the natural & mythological worlds, and despite my discontent with the state of the nation, my affinity with Melitensia.
Ramon Azzopardi Fiott
