Maltese Artist Announces First Solo Exhibition In London
Sebastian Tanti Burlò’s first UK solo exhibition, Antic Hay, will be held at Cicek Gallery in London, from 15th to 31st August.
The exhibition surveys the ever-declining decadence of Western societies, and levels an irreverent critique at the nationalistic sentiments sweeping the European continent.
The artist repurposes the public fixation on luxurious narratives of nobility and power, seen across popular culture from Downton Abbey to Succession. He evokes the current state of Western democracy, a haggard society filled with a creeping sense of anti-establishment revolution.
Sebastian Tanti Burlò is a Maltese political cartoonist, painter and writer, currently residing in London. Under the name Burlò, he has been exhibited in Malta, Barcelona, Florence and London. His work combines current affairs, satire and writing to create a socio-commentary of today’s times in bold paintings.
The name Antic Hay references an absurd dance described in Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II: “My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns, shall with the goat feet dance the antic hay.”
Burlò expresses that these words reflect our current predicament. “As the savage winds of the climate crisis crash around us, carrying the booms of war drums closer each day, we are once again caught dancing the antic hay.”
The exhibition comprises a new collection of 14 oil paintings that includes a ribald cast of fictional caricatures – ranging from Major Mann to the artist’s signature “Sausage People” – set amid a series of stately and mundane surroundings. Throughout the exhibition, Burlò’s “Sausage People” are seen going about their everyday life. According to the artist, “They hold up a mirror to us. We recognise our blind overconsumption of resources…” It is a scathing visual remark on the comfortable laurels we sit upon. This collection of paintings is a satirical take on our western society, frivolously living through our troubled times.
Cicek Gallery is an independent art gallery, founded in 2021 by artist and entrepreneur Berfin Cicek. The gallery champions emerging artists yet to be discovered by the world, with a specific focus on artists from under represented demographics. These include artists of different ethnic minorities, artists from LGBTQ+ communities, and female artists.
What do you think of Burlò’s work?