The brutality of Caravaggio’s Beheading altarpiece is reimagined for the present – wars, gulags, famines, genocides, and ecological degradation – in a conflagration of molten steel and rain
Keith Sciberras, co-curator of the Malta Pavilion for the Venice Biennale of 2022, speaks to
Lara Zammit about Diplomazija Astuta.
Diplomazija Astuta, the Malta Pavilion for the Venice Biennale of 2022, is set to create “a conceptual, immersive, site-specific installation that bridges biblical narratives with contemporary culture”, with a particular focus on Caravaggio’s immanent themes.
Keith Sciberras, co-curator of the pavilion, described the curatorial team behind the project as “a rather unexpected group, featuring a Caravaggio scholar, a contemporary art curator, a kinetic art sculptor, a theorist/artist, a musician/conductor and art managers”.
“The project was actually born in 2018,” began Sciberras, “when Jeffrey Uslip, Arcangelo Sassolino and I first discussed the possibility of contemporary, immersive engagement with Caravaggio’s The Beheading of St John the Baptist.