Spring installation awakens the senses

Spring has been brought to life in a new art installation at the entrance to John Mackintosh Hall which is set to awaken all the senses.

Put together by local artist Vera Francis, “Awakening” represents spring, the emerging and awakening of new life or a new start.

She said the deeper meaning from this piece is to enable the human race to awaken to the importance of nature and to learn to respect it.

“As Mother Nature awakens the human race should awaken too and realise the destruction we are causing to our planet,” she said.

The artist said she believes that if people can connect to nature in a deeper way and treat it as their own, they would feel more responsible towards it.

The art installation has many different elements to it and was completed on Friday.

Awakening Vera Francis090419 (Photo John Bugeja) an installation representing Spring, including the 3D bird photographs representing nature coming to life.

There are artificial flowers which represent “the clutter of artificial items in our lives”, and 3D photographs of birds which represents nature coming to life.

The installation is to be viewed using 3D glasses which, Mrs Francis said, represents a tool to see into nature.

These glasses are tied down so it also serves as a leash which represents our own limitations, she added.

The art installation also includes flower essence to represent the soul of flowers and of the people, meanwhile the bird sound represents nature’s voice.

Mrs Francis said: “By experiencing this piece, I hope the viewer will feel relaxed and at peace, and forget about their problems for the moment.”

“Each person will feel something that is personal to them.”

Mrs Francis won last year’s Spring Art Exposition with this art installation, and it took her about four days at the time to figure out how to put it together and to fit it into Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery.

This time round, it took her around five hours of putting the piece together and features new bird sounds more suitable to its surroundings.

Pics by Johnny Bugeja