https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/3308 Sat, 25 Apr 2026 20:51:32 GMT 2026-04-25T20:51:32Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138666 Title: Dear woman : an exploration of the transition from girlhood to womanhood through artistic engagement with vernacular archival material Abstract: Hearing happens without asking. It arrives uninvited and effortlessly. Listening, however, is to lean in. It is a conscious act, a gesture of presence, a decision to pay attention and not just with the ears. This dissertation is, above all, an exercise in listening with purpose and with intent. At its centre are the voices of women reflecting on the, often unspoken, passage from girlhood to womanhood. Yet the listening that shapes this work stretches beyond these intimate recollections. It stands quietly in opposition to the noise and velocity of the world we inhabit. One where reaction too easily replaces reflection. In one of his final public messages before his passing in April 2025, Pope Francis urged the youth, not to shout louder, but to listen more deeply. “We are losing the ability to listen to those in front of us,” he said, calling listening “the most precious and life-giving gift we can offer each other.”. The following work reimagines listening as both as a method and a mode of care; an artistic practice grounded in empathy, attention and reflection. To listen is to hold space for meaning to surface, to honour the vulnerability of what is shared, and to meet each other with compassion and care. Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138666 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138665 Title: Interwoven : exploring the consumer, the garment, and the system through artistic research practice Abstract: This dissertation provided an opportunity to explore new artistic practices, permitting the development of creative skills. It was initiated as a direct response to the consumption of garments and the fast-fashion industry. Recognised as the second most polluting industry after oil production, the fashion sector plays a significant role in ongoing environmental degradation. This critical issue served as the foundation for the research and creative development undertaken in this study. Vivienne Westwood’s practice as a designer played a pivotal role in guiding the direction of this dissertation, with her activism and design work serving as a major source of inspiration for the chosen research focus. Westwood’s urgent call for change within the fashion industry framed fast fashion as a state of emergency, a perspective that deeply resonated with the artistic intentions of this research. Furthermore, this research moves beyond the study of garments and weaving to critically reflect on contemporary consumer behaviour and fast fashion practices. While the physical act of deconstructing and reworking textiles forms a central part of the investigation, the project also addresses the broader systems that inform why and how clothing is consumed, discarded, and valued in today’s society. The study engages with the psychological and cultural factors that drive mass consumption, exploring how fast fashion encourages a detachment from the material and emotional significance of garments. This research positions the act of making as both a form of resistance and reflection, challenging the throwaway culture that defines much of the modern fashion industry. By reclaiming discarded clothing and reimagining it through slow, deliberate processes like weaving, the work draws attention to the consequences of overproduction and overconsumption. It interrogates the lifecycle of garments and the ethics of production, urging a reconsideration of the relationships we form with what we wear. Ultimately, the project not only critiques the mechanisms of fast fashion but also proposes alternative modes of engagement, ones rooted in care, longevity, and awareness. In doing so, it situates artistic practice as a vital tool for both social commentary and transformative action. Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138665 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138663 Title: Investigating change in identity and society in contemporary Malta through a practice-based research project Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to explore the change that has been prevalent in Maltese society in recent years. The research has stemmed from hearing the disputed phrase ‘losing identity’, which hence led to an inquiry about what identity is and if there really is a ‘loss’ of the Maltese identity. Subsequently, what was found throughout the research of the topic was that the Maltese identity is not being lost, rather, it is an identity that is intrinsically transformative. This does not only stem from the current rapid social change regarding globalisation and the increase in foreign influences up on the island’s infrastructure and systems, but it comes from the island’s history regarding multiple occupants that have inhabited the island as well as the link with small island identities, which is different from identities that come from continents. It investigates the topic of material culture studies in relation to the artworld’s depiction of personal and national identity through global artists such as Ai Weiwei and William Kentridge, but also local ones such as Matthew Attard and Clint Calleja. The investigation of change in identity hence needed to be investigated in both the global and local context through the relationships people have with their country’s past, and their attitudes towards their future. To further investigate such matters, it was imperative that interviews with locals were to be conducted, which looked at the childhoods of the people and the observations they had about change. The project has evolved from the idea that construction could be used for the representation of the changing Malta, however, throughout deeper research into the topic, more facets of identity started to show, from language, the people who are present in the island, the symbols used to represent Malta through its tourism industry and the crafts that are deemed to be traditional. These facets of social change were then adopted into a practice based research project, in which depictions of the traditional were juxtaposed with more contemporary imagery such as those relating to technology and industry. Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138663 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138662 Title: Thinking, making, meditating : reflections on time and boredom through a fine art research project Abstract: This dissertation is the result of a thorough investigation into the aesthetic and affective state of boredom as seen through the practice of visual art. It investigates how boredom, which is usually written off as unimportant or useless, may be critically rethought as a creative place for emotional involvement, artistic reflection, and temporal awareness. Through the integration of philosophical discourse, contemporary cultural theory, and practice-led approaches, the study investigates boredom as a complex and varied phenomenon that is ingrained in contemporary visual and temporal culture, rather than only as a psychological state. The project evolved from an early interest in contemporary attention and overstimulation, progressively focusing on the complex interrelationships among repetition, quiet, boredom, and visual representation. To express ennui as presence rather than absence, artistic practice, more especially, lens-based media like photography, film, and cyanotype, became essential. Interviews with academics and artists from a variety of fields added to the research by providing insightful information about how boredom functions as a lived experience and a catalyst for creativity. This study's practice component is based on an individual's experience with memory, emotional closeness, and domestic space. In addition to serving as the final piece's physical location, the artist's late great-grandmother's home offered a conceptual framework that allowed for a deeper exploration of the themes of calm persistence, length, and silence. To frame boredom as a rich field for creative and philosophical investigation, the ensuing body of work seeks to move it from its cultural marginality into a more thoughtful and critical light. Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138662 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z