‘Include Art In Your Life And Experiment’: Maltese Man Behind Riviera’s Giant Clay Jesus Has An Important Message For Everyone
It all started back in 2012, when Mizzi attended Sculpture in Stone, an evening course in Valletta
Mizzi had spent two years sculpting with stone before realising that the Malta School of Arts offered another course in clay modelling. He used to peek into the class through windows while lessons were taking place and would observe what others were doing until one day in 2014, when he decided he would attend the class himself.
Under the guidance of late sculptor Joseph Chetucuti (sculptor of Grandmaster La Valette, located near the Royal Opera House in Valletta), he started copying faces and figures in a one-dimensional form.
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Later that year, he asked Chetcuti if he could try out a larger bust
Mizzi had always had his eyes on a particular Greek bust, as he admired its posture and overall aesthetic. Chetcuti gladly accepted and passed the challenge on to him soon after.
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Mizzi’s next challenge was to create a bust from a photograph. He worked on a piece as a gift to a friend, after a relative had passed away. He previewed the piece with a relative of the family who gave it their blessing, and the form was then cast in bronze with the help of a local foundry and donated to the family who display it within their home.
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In 2015, Mizzi applied for a second year of the same course and challenged himself to scale a small bust of two inches all the way up to two feet
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Sadly, Chetcuti passed soon after.
Mizzi’s ancestors on his mother’s side used to work in stone, decorating facades and crafting other stone ornaments. We’d guess his ancestors left some of their craft in their DNA and passed it down.
He confesses a passion for archaeology and history and most of the time will try to blend some element of classical antiquity into a piece of his art.
“My favourite piece was the 3D bust of King Lysimachus in clay,” Mizzi divulged, “It’s my favourite material because it feels very natural to work with and you can be more expressive. The real challenge in working with clay over other materials is that you continuously have to find the right balance with moisture in order to keep it malleable.”
A lot of the work on Mizzi’s Instagram page was recycled within the Malta School of Arts. Other pieces were gifted to friends and family. At the end of the day, though, he still holds on to the first piece he made, the face of St. Jerome, which he keeps at home.
“This summer I had dedicated some time to doing some modelling in clay at Riviera Bay. It was nice to meet people on site questioning about the technique and process. These works were eventually eroded by natural elements after a few days.”
Mizzi also works on eggshells; he’s engraved a replica of the Creation of Adam onto an egg.
“That was a very delicate job to do as you need to apply the right amount of pressure or else you have to start from scratch.” Mizzi gifted the piece to an uncle of his for Easter, one of his sources of inspiration. Sadly, the uncle has since passed away.
Last year, Mizzi started studying drawing and painting.
In his spare time, Mizzi also practices free-diving, a hobby he uses to supplement another pastime of his: underwater photography. He also enjoys planting trees and frequenting evening lectures on history, and is also attends the School of Practical Philosophy.