‘ĊAFĊIF’: Dominique Ciancio’s Maritime-Inspired Exhibition
Maltese artist Dominique Ciancio has launched his 10th solo exhibition titled “ĊAFĊIF” , presenting a new series of paintings that explore the imagined voice of the sea. His latest body of work encourages viewers to consider what stories the sea might tell, shaped by an island carved and forged by waves.
The exhibition draws its name from a Maltese term that describes splashing or playing in water. The word itself is onomatopoeic, echoing a sound that is at once timeless, repetitive, and cyclical—a direct linguistic reflection of the sea’s enduring rhythm.
Born in 1983, Ciancio graduated in History of Art and Philosophy from the University of Malta in 2004 and completed a four-year Fine Arts diploma at the Malta School of Art. In 2005, he joined Universal Studios Inc.’s Art Department, working on productions by major directors including Steven Spielberg. At 26, while living in Oslo, he transitioned to painting full-time, adopting a meticulous, process-driven approach and describing his works as handmade images.
Ciancio’s work centres on the sea’s reflective nature. Often described as a deep maritime mirror, the ocean becomes a visual allegory for introspection and dialogue in Ciancio’s canvases. Through loose, playful brushstrokes, he constructs an artistic conversation between the island and core maritime figures—traditional boats and swimmers, deliberately chosen as the collection’s protagonists.
The paintings act as a meditation on island identity and personal longing. Swimmers serve as metaphors for yearning, heritag and memory, symbolising immersion in collective and personal history. The traditional boats stand as vessels of craftsmanship, culture, identity and lived history. The sea, meanwhile, is portrayed as both a divider and a link, isolating yet connecting, marking what feels safe and familiar versus what is untamed and unknown.
Ciancio’s figurative style aims to evoke a strong sense of place while engaging with struggle, belonging, vulnerability and identity as a living, non-static narrative. His work reframes Malta’s identity as luminous, conflicted and evolving, shaped by shared memory and community choice.
The exhibition will be available for viewing at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq between 7th and 21st December.
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