Ki No Kami

Peter Mark Mercieca talks toVamp about the art of photography and the selection of large-scale works he is exhibiting at this year’s edition of Malta Design Week.

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Picture yourself standing before a print of one of the images on this page. At double your height, it’s enough to fill your entire visual space. The colours and forms become a landscape that evokes the subconscious, inviting the viewer to be immersed in that space for a unique, personal moment. Without the need to seek out the subliminal, one should let go and explore the feelings that they evoke at that present moment.

There is nothing extraordinary about the subjects in my pictures; they are simply beautiful things that are frequently overlooked. Somewhat other-worldly, these images present a form of abstract expressionism in photography that I have been experimenting with for years. This collection also seeks to reconnect the viewer to nature which humanity has moved further away from in following our evolutionary path.

“I’ve always loved photography, and I consider myself fortunate to be living at a time when the medium is evolving so rapidly. More people are stretching its possibilities, pushing the boundaries further; the result being incredibly innovative photography like we have never seen before. Photography will become even more powerful in the near future due to the ongoing digital revolution. I try not to think of it as mainstream photography, but as an artistic medium; one that can, and will do much more for art.”

The exhibition name, Ki No Kami refers to an ancient Japanese word meaning the ‘spirit in the tree’. This concept captured my attention and fuelled my imagination as I have often felt that trees, some kinds more than others, possess a spiritual resonance that is not easily explained. We learn so much from nature and exploring it artistically offers limitless inspiration. My fascination with trees may have stemmed not only by their beauty but also from the fact that they provide us with our most valuable resource – that is the air that we breathe.