Te fit-Tazza: Recent Episodes
Te fit-Tazza
We’re a Maltese art studio intrigued by the mix of local aesthetic and identity.The Maltese islands boast a wealth of identity, evident to the eye in how we act and we interact and, to an extent, how we present ourselves both socially and visually. It would be fair to state that this abundance of distinction may be rooted in a strong sense of tradition, pride and patriotism.We are based in Malta, and over the past years, we have been studying forms and visual elements that define the Maltese identity, culture & aesthetic.In this podcast series, we aim to explore and discuss how Malta is changing, the realities of our identity and the make-up of the islands’ visual language.
We sit down with Thomas Camilleri, to hear all about 'The Lazarus Club', his love for Figolli, Maltese Tiles and of course the Maltese aesthetic.
Enjoy the listen, and do check out our other podcast episodes.
For this episode of our podcast, we sit down with Sandro Debono, a Maltese, art curator, art historian, academic and museum thinker.
We talk about the Maltese identity, how the function of Museums can benefit society greatly and the origins of Maltese aesthetics.
Award winning architect Richard England has always firmly believed that architecture must not only accommodate its functional aspects but more so it must enhance the spirit, and elevate the soul of its users. He has often quoted Tennessee William’s words ‘I don’t want reality, I want magic’ stating that his philosophy is that the job of the architect is to make the ordinary extraordinary.
Embracing a regional approach with specific reference to place, memory and the zeitgeist of the age, England’s inspiration stems from the rich millennial mnemonic layering of his native land; from the Neolithic, through the resplendent architecture of the 16th , 17th and 18th centuries together with that of the ethnic vernacular typology.
In this podcast we talk about his career, Malta in the 60s just after independence and how over development coupled with the lack of urban planning is leading the countries architectural landscape in a questionable direction.
Maltatype opened people’s eyes to a dying local trade, a trade which had art at its core, and a trade which lent so much charm and beauty to many Maltese streets and shops. Maltatype’s obsession is beauty, and when you can find beauty in fontography the formula is set.
Each sign is totally unique and was held aloft on top of the shop doors like a trophy, however, development and changes, our usual suspects, together with advancements in technology soon rendered the fine art of shop sign-making almost completely redundant. This gives Maltatype even more significance, as where we would love to see more shop signs portraying Maltese hand made typography in our streets, digitalising them preserves them for us for good.
In this episode, we delve deeper into the ins and outs of Maltatype, the craft of signwriting, the concept of preservation and documentation as well as a stab at understanding the visual makeup of the Maltese identity and Aesthetic.
Maltadoors was conceived as an Instagram account and organically evolved into a documentative project. Door and facades become a means of introduction to the typical, or in this case, atypical household – where contents, residents or interior spatial dynamics remain curiously speculative to passers-by.
A symbol of Maltese identity, the door also constitutes a metaphor for ‘a’ threshold; a point of entry / exit; a boundary, all at once impeding yet also granting access. It is also the grounding notion which increasingly, and incessantly fascinates Lisa Gwen.
On this episode we sit down with Lisa, and hear about what makes her tick. Her love for Hamrun, Malta and all things pretty and aesthetically bold.
See the full collection as released in 2019 & 2020 by visiting https://shop.tefittazza.com/collections/maltadoors-collab