10 Questions with Marlon Tabone

Marlon Tabone, born in 1998 in Victoria (Malta) and currently based in London (UK), creates conceptual pieces using computational media. He completed his degree in Digital Arts Computing at Goldsmiths College in 2020, after securing a scholarship in 2017.

Tabone's work encompasses various themes, with a particular focus on the monumental, which serves as a unifying thread throughout his body of work. His work often explores the idea of fragile permanence and processes related to temporality, which is closely tied to his interest in the monumental. Despite this focus, Tabone also explores a range of themes and subjects, including visual and political themes.

www.marlontabone.co.uk | @marlontabone

ARTIST STATEMENT

Marlon Tabone's artistic practice covers a wide range of computational media, from social media engagement to digital photographic manipulation. His work consistently explores the concept of monumental art, achieved through unconventional and often automated execution methods that incorporate elements of randomness. Despite the diverse themes that Tabone addresses in his works, including political and visual themes, there is an underlying theme of the interplay between permanence and temporality that ties everything together.

Tabone's interest in monumental art may have been sparked by his childhood fascination with archaeology, reflected in his tendency to collect fossils and various objects. As a Maltese artist, Tabone's works frequently address subjects and themes related to his identity, which plays a crucial and informative role in his practice. His academic background in Maltese political history and international relations, acquired through studies at the University of Malta, further reinforces and highlights this connection.

In Memoriam, tweet, 2021 © Marlon Tabone

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. What is your background, and why did you decide to be an artist in the first place?

My name is Marlon Tabone, and I am a Maltese artist originating from Gozo, an island in the Maltese Archipelago. I have been based out of London (UK) since 2017, when I undertook a BSc in Digital Arts Computing at Goldsmiths College, the University of London.
Prior to coming to London, I was permanently based in Malta, and I was enrolled for a BA in International Relations and History at the University of Malta. I mention this because it is an important detail when one considers the themes and subjects I would later pursue in my artistic practice as well as the artists that I would be interested in and studying, including the likes of Robert Smithson, Anselm Kiefer, and John Carl Warnecke.
I find that there is a recurring theme in my work and that this is the overarching exploration of monumental art coupled with an unconventional execution method. When looking at my work, this is not particularly obvious due to the treatment of diverse themes that, at face value, may appear at odds or completely disassociated. However, at a depth, everything ties back to this interest in the monumental, an interest in permanence juxtaposed with processes related to temporality. This is perhaps derived from a childhood interest in archaeology that often manifested as a hoarding of fossils and found objects.
With regard to your original question about my becoming an artist, I don't particularly consider it a conscious choice. Nonetheless, I would say that I have followed and pursued it because I find it to be a good instrument for expression and communication as well as to pass commentary at a personal, social, and political level. It is also a great tool to communicate things that are otherwise difficult to convey verbally or in writing. The encompassing nature of an art piece (especially a conceptual piece) provides enough context to the receiver.

What is your aim as an artist?

The intent of my work is to comment and not to pass judgment. I want the audience to think and not to be told what to think and to this end, I am mindful to leave enough room for interpretation, debate, and discovery. I would not, however, say that I am sitting on a fence either, especially when it comes to a piece that addresses a political event such as "In Memoriam".
As an artist, I look for value in themes that are perhaps at a first pass disregarded or verging on locally (Malta) controversial issues. That is most often what launches a train of thought that eventually turns into a concept. There is an aspect of discovery and wanting to avoid the obvious and taking an alternate route to settle on a subject. It's essential that this part of the process develops as organically as possible. The aforementioned childhood interest in hoarding archaeological and found objects now manifests as hoarding digital media, photographs, videos, and screenshots, all saved for future use.
I do not purposefully go out looking for new themes, but I keep myself up-to-date with current happenings in Malta and internationally; and when inspiration is required, you will often find me referring back to a personal archive of photographs that includes familial film dating back to a pre-war era. Written and visual first-hand sources are also referred to in the research process. With regards to project duration, it depends, but I typically work on my projects for an extended and indefinite period of time, and this is the most difficult part of my practice. To come to define when a project is finished.

You are primarily a conceptual artist. How did this definition change over the years?

In working with traditional media prior to my studies at Goldsmiths, I did not typically carry out large conceptual themes or projects. Nevertheless, I would always seek some sort of meaning in the work that I produced. In my late teens, I had already started moving away from the idea of painting for painting's sake, although I appreciated the skill to correctly pull that off. My interests, thought process, execution, and also my primary medium (coding and programming) probably worked together to trigger this shift toward the conceptual in one way or another. I am also interested in an indirect expression through which I don't present an audience with something obvious or literal.

Let's talk about your project, "In Memoriam." The piece, an A.I. internet art piece, intends to preserve the memory of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated by a car bomb on the 16th of October 2017 in Bidnija, Malta, as you explain in your statement. It is a very political piece; how did you come up with this idea?

As a Maltese citizen, I felt it was both appropriate and my duty to comment on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, which was a significant political and historical event for Malta on both national and international scales. Being away at the time, I believed I could offer a unique perspective.
There are only a few moments in life where I can recall exactly where I was and what I was doing, and this was undoubtedly one of them. I was back home, sitting at my desk and working on my laptop, having recently moved to London to begin my studies at Goldsmiths. When I first read about the incident on a local newspaper portal, the initial reports were vague, reporting only on an explosion. However, rumours were already spreading about the victim's identity. Addressing this event as a topic was crucial for me on a personal level, as a way to connect with my Maltese identity, reflect on the country's changed history, and express a range of emotions from frustration and disbelief to hope.
A few years later, as I entered my final year of studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, I was able to utilise the skills I had acquired to develop my final year degree project, In Memoriam. In order to train a machine learning system to emulate Caruana Galizia's writing style, I needed a robust dataset, and Daphne's blog, 'Running Commentary,' proved to be the perfect choice from both thematic and technical perspectives.
Although the assassination occurred in late 2017, the investigation into her murder reached a boiling point in late 2019, culminating in mass protests across Malta's capital, Valletta, and the resignation of incumbent Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. As I prepared for my final year project, my home country was in the midst of a political crisis, and the subject of Daphne Caruana Galizia and her family's quest for justice was at the forefront of my mind.

In Memoriam, tweet, 2020 © Marlon Tabone

Using A.I. and Machine Learning techniques the piece emulates Caruana Galizia's writing style. What messages do you want to convey?

That is correct. In Memoriam utilises natural language processing (NLP) techniques to imitate Daphne Caruana Galizia's writing style in her blog Running Commentary. NLP is a branch of artificial intelligence that enables machines to understand and analyse human language, and it is employed for tasks like language translation, sentiment analysis, and text summarisation. Developing In Memoriam entailed using a range of NLP techniques, such as lemmatisation, punctuation elimination, and stop-word removal, as well as some experimentation during the AI model training process.
With regard to my message to the audience, I aim to stress that the fight for justice and accountability in Daphne's case is not hers alone, but a collective responsibility that we must all uphold. The project endeavours to keep her legacy alive serving as an online memorial site for Daphne, where her remarkable life and work can be celebrated and remembered. Given the ongoing obstacles (at the time) in maintaining a physical memorial in front of the law courts, creating an online platform seemed like a natural and practical solution. The project also explores the concept of immortality, specifically the enduring power of words, stories, and people's impact on the world and those around them.
Inspired in part by two Maltese idioms - "Iż-żejt dejjem jitla' f'wiċċ l-ilma" and "Id-dnub ma jorqodx" - the piece conveys that we cannot turn a blind eye to the injustice of Daphne's murder and that the truth will ultimately prevail.

The assassination of the journalist was a turning point for Maltese politics in the recent past. How much did this influence your work? Do you usually work on such engaged themes, or did this event move you in this direction?

I did not know Daphne personally but her character and persona were so entrenched in the local life. Everybody in Malta, myself included, was very familiar with her prior to her demise. To contextualise for the audience, Malta is a country that retains a population just short of half a million. It was a topic that I felt I needed to address through my practice and as you correctly state this was indeed a turning point for Malta, at least it felt as such at the time. It felt important and it presented a way to communicate, engage and elicit a response.
I do have older works than “In Memoriam” that address political or rather geo-political subjects such as the migrant crisis; namely a piece called “Bahar Cimiterju (Cemetery at Sea)”. However, Daphne’s murder, a situation that came to be with intent and a fully thought-out plan, propelled a different kind of passion.
The resonance of this event may be traced back to Malta's history of political violence, which stands as a stark reminder that lessons have yet to be learned and mistakes rectified. The incident echoes the physical violence of the tumultuous 1980s, characterised by politically motivated shootouts and mob attacks that led to fatalities. Moreover, upon closer scrutiny, the events before and after this saga reveal elements of persecution, dehumanisation and demonisation, such as the despicable and totally unjust branding of Daphne Caruana Galizia as a "saħħara" (witch), which in some ways mirrors the oppressive political climate of 1960s Malta. During that time, the Catholic Church imposed the interdict on Malta Labour Party members and supporters, refusing them burial on holy grounds and ruling a vote for the MLP a mortal sin. It is however important to acknowledge that in the case of Daphne, this was an individual rather than a group or community. These instances of Malta's political history are often disregarded and forgotten, as those who have lived through them would rather not speak of them.
Hence, the drive to address this issue was also driven by the fact that Daphne was not only persecuted during her lifetime but also after her death. This is exemplified by the ongoing libel cases and the unrelenting efforts of some in positions of power to obliterate her memory, including the daily removal of a memorial erected in front of the law courts in Valletta, Malta, for several years following her untimely passing. However, this has at least now ceased to be the case.
This is where "In Memoriam" intersects with the monumental. Apart from the piece being itself a memorialisation or a “virtual monument” for Daphne, the subject event being commented on carries a symbolical quality and weight, especially when framed in the aforementioned historical context and the country’s political climate at the time of the assassination and thereafter.

In Memoriam is based online and uses Twitter as its outcome. How much does the temporary nature of the medium influence your message?

I concur that there is an aspect of transience associated with tweets as a medium. However, I believe that this is outweighed by the permanent nature of the internet network. Through the internet, the 'In Memoriam' tweet is perpetually exhibited and readily accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
Regarding the tweet's temporary lifespan from an activity standpoint, it is accurate to state that the piece is now inactive and no longer tweets. This is a natural progression in the lifecycle of internet systems. I must clarify that I played no role in the account's transition to a dormant state. Due to the automated activity and frequent posting of the account, Twitter's systems flagged it as a potential bot and subsequently deactivated it. As a consequence, the project came to an organic end in its current state.
This could be interpreted as a metaphor for physical monuments that are often neglected, and as they outlive their usefulness, they become distant memories that take on a life of their own.

Let's talk about the future. Is there anything else you would like to experiment with? Any theme or technique you would like to incorporate into your work?

I'm interested in exploring the possibilities of displaying art publicly, both in physical and virtual spaces, outside the traditional gallery setting. Additionally, I'm intrigued by the idea of merging traditional and digital media in my artistic practice. This could involve utilising technology to create works of art through computational processes such as painting or writing. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, I'm also drawn to the idea of taking old concepts and revitalising them with modern technology and techniques.

Do you have any new series or projects you are currently working on?

Recently, I released Scriptum Mors, an exploration of material transformation through digital manipulation. This project takes the form of a collection of digital collages created by randomly deconstructing original photographs of a once-abandoned water distillation plant in Qala, Malta - the artist's hometown - that was revitalised as a reverse osmosis plantation in 2021. Mors represents the act of destruction as a form of creation, with each new composition replacing the previous one, leaving no accessible secondary copies except for the original publication.
In addition, I am actively pursuing other important topics, including the issue of overdevelopment and construction in Malta. Due to the severity and magnitude of this issue, I am currently considering different mediums that can effectively confront and address this problem with a strong community and societal impact.

Finally, where can our readers find your work? Do you have any upcoming exhibitions or publications you would like to share with us?

My artistic portfolio is showcased on my website. For those interested in connecting with me and gaining insight into my creative process, I am active on Instagram and Facebook as @marlontabone and Marlon Tabone Studio, respectively. At the moment, I do not have any upcoming exhibitions or shows, but any updates will be shared through my social media channels.

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