Sheela / Sansun(a): Bridging Islands
Gabriel Buttiġieġ
5 - 25 June 2025
The story
One of Malta’s prolific artists, Gabriel Buttiġieġ, is set to exhibit a new series of works in his first solo show in Dublin, Ireland. Curated with the spirit of cultural diplomacy between Malta and Ireland by Dublin based art historian and curator, AnneMarie Saliba, Sheela /Sansun(a): Bridging Islands combines the stories of two powerful figures in Irish and Maltese history: the mysterious Irish figure, the Sheela na gig, and the prehistoric Maltese giantess, Sansuna. Adopting a new vibrant expressionistic style in his paintings, Buttiġieġ uses Sheela and Sansuna to embody his ardent and profound interest in the human condition.
In Sheela /Sansun(a): Bridging Islands, Gabriel Buttiġieġ combines the past and the present to create new narratives that resist convention. While paying a powerful tribute to Sheela Na Gig and Sansuna, he addresses fundamental questions and concepts which humans have grappled with since the beginning of time.
This project is generously supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta, Cultural Diplomacy Fund.
Work
His work primarily deals with birth and motherhood. Traced back to the 11th century, the Sheela Na Gig, a depiction of a figure pulling open an exaggerated vulva, was possibly a symbol for fertility worship, or a symbol to stray off evil or a warning against lust. Sansuna, also a mother figure, is the heroic giantess who carried megaliths across the island of Gozo, building the Ġgantija Temples in 3600 BC. Carrying her half-human, half-giant children on her shoulder and balancing a slab of stone on her head, she constructed this temple complex to evoke fertility and rain. Buttiġieġ merges illustrations of Sheela and Sansuna, with imagery of primitive symbolism, vivid language, and visuals related to video games and films, which have brought the artist back to his childhood and early days of drawing
Recent shows
Tøn exists for art that stays open — work that questions more than it concludes. We look for contemporary artists who are honest about the search, not just the result. We're always open to those we haven't met yet.
