Taking Her Craft To Lands Afar, Maltese Illustrator Hits Sydney In Next Phase Of Travelling Exhibition
The craft of Maltese illustrator Daniela Attard, known as iella, has made it to Australia, after the third part of her traveling exhibition – Take Me Home – was unveiled in Sydney.
The exhibition was first featured in London earlier this year. It later ran for two weeks in Malta. Now, the third part of iella’s venture saw the exhibition make its way all the way to the land down under.
Inspired by graffiti, illustration and sketchbook keeping, her works have been traversing the globe and hitting the very spots that inspired the works themselves.
And while core pieces were still present in each of the three shows, the works featured in Sydney have taken a stylistic turn towards the more natural.
“Over the past few years I have struggled with the concept of home and belonging to one place,” iella said. “This is a common problem that comes with emigrating from your home country to develop and find one’s place in the world.”
Iella left Malta for the UK in 2012 with the original intention to further her studies. To deal with moments of homesickness, she began drawing and devoting more time towards her craft.
“I could never fully fit into British culture, even to this day, but I have learned to use turn my ‘differences’ into my strengths.”
“I have formed many types of relationships along the way, especially with my former partner. This led me to Australia, the country with the largest Maltese diaspora.”
Iella’s story is one of grief and resilience. And she has translated these personal experiences into drawings that reflect key lessons and experiences from her past. Of which, explore themes of ‘homesickness, nostalgia and trying to find one’s place in the world’.
This project is supported by the Arts Council Malta.
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