ARRIVALS>MALTA: RAPHAEL VELLA - READING CABINETS

28 February to 15 April 2007

For his exhibition Reading Cabinets at Modern Art Oxford, Raphael Vella presents a series of intricate and meticulously executed drawings that explore links between religion, fundamentalism and terrorism.

Vella creates works that range from altered books to drawings, sculptures and
multi-media installations. In recent works, Vella alters doctrinal texts, mainly English language textbooks used in Maltese secondary schools. In Student’s Catholic Doctrine, the physical structure of the book has been transformed by graphite marks and has started to become formless pulp.

Turner Contemporary, Margate presents the work of Maltese artist Norbert Francis Attard. For more information visit www.turnercontemporary.org

ARRIVALS > MALTA forms part of ARRIVALS > NEW ART FROM THE EU, a series of exhibitions over two years at Modern Art Oxford and Turner Contemporary, Margate, introducing the work of artists from the expanded European Union. ARRIVALS > MALTA is the final exhibition in the programme. Details of previous Arrivals exhibitions with artists from Poland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Slovakia, Estonia and Hungary including the curators’ diaries and views from the exhibitions can be found at www.modernartoxford.org.uk.

Ends

For press enquiries please call Sara Dewsbery on +44 (0)1865 813813 or email sara.dewsbery@modernartoxford.org.uk

Note to Editors
Raphael Vella was born in Malta in 1967. He graduated from the University of Malta in 1991 and completed a practice-based doctoral research that explored the links between religion, fundamentalism and terrorism at Camberwell College of Arts, London in 2006. Vella lectures in Contemporary Art Practice, Theory and Methodology at the University of Malta, and is currently undertaking research about different aspects of contemporary art in Malta.

Press contact

For further press information and images please contact Sara Dewsbery on 01865 813813.


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