Andrew Borg Wirth tells us about the contemporary book ‘Stories of Home’ and the story of Janette Marsh
The month of March is ovarian cancer awareness month. A collaborative project, ‘Stories of Home,’ directly addresses this sensitive topic by amalgamating it with art. ‘Stories of Home’ thus acts as a contemporary book curated by visual artist Andrew Borg Wirth, with the assistance of photographer Marija Grech. The pages found within, follow the vulnerable story of Janette Marsh and her cancer diagnosis. It is a confessional work that bravely exposes in detail struggles and aims to delve into politics. Below, in conversation with Andrew Borg Wirth, we can access further insight into this project.
Photo credits: Marija Grech
What prompted the making of the coffee table art book 'Stories of Home'?
Janette’s diagnosis in 2020 changed altogether the woman Janette was, and she approached me to create something visual which would encapsulate her journey, and help her to raise awareness and funds. She allowed me the liberty to steer it in any direction I would like, and I chose to do this through a photo essay that investigates nostalgia, a subject my work often focuses on. The idea of ‘home’ came because of how cancer shook to the core so many things in Janette’s life; her body, her relationship with her husband, her confidence and way with the world.
The photo essays in the book are an integration of art and the sensitive topic of cancer. What should one expect to experience when reading it?
Together with Marija Grech, we investigated different notions of familiarity and devised an archive of images, artefacts and sentiments that present the conversations we shared over the past year or so. It goes beyond the biographical or the documentational because I was allowed to interpret for my own, the things that I was seeing Janette and Marija do. In fact Janette oscillates between the roles of artist and subject throughout the book, and this offers a relatable figure for others who like her pass through this disease.
Photo Credits: Marija Grech
What is your personal takeaway as a curator from collaborating on this project?
As a curator I like to think of my work and my role as being a political endeavour; a purpose that uses objects of beauty in order to make powerful statements. I hope that this will continue to be a defining feature of the work I create, so I have learnt volumes through ‘Stories of Home’ of how this will continue to happen.
Photo credits: Marija Grech
What's next in plan for Andrew Borg Wirth?
I have just concluded an MA in Culture, Criticism and Curation at Central Saint Martin’s in London where I submitted a thesis that presents conversations around monuments, activism, protest and social justice. It spoke about the curatorial as an approach rather than a field, and I am working on a few projects like Stories of Home that test further what I studied. I also have more collaborative work coming up with a number of local artists, and I am extremely excited to announce that next month we will be launching the first collection of objects by bloc, a collective I co-founded with Nick Theuma and Mike Zerafa.
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