Solo Exhibition
Council of the European Union, Brussels, Belgium.
February – June 2017
With this collection I delve into one aspect of Malta’s rich heritage in stone: the Neolithic temples. Some of these structures date back to 3600 BC and are thought to be the oldest standing structures in Europe. These magnificent edifices consist of megaliths hewn, hauled and erected by hands which are alien to us, and were used for worship by a civilisation about which we know nothing else.
I look at these temples, which are found all over the Maltese islands, and not only see them for the awe-inspiring marvels that they are, but perceive them as an artistic expression, a song which a people sang in praise of its gods and nature. The collection of images which I present here can itself be seen as a song sung in honour of the builders of these structures, the people I refer to as “the unwitting precursors of today’s art”.
I am in awe of these megalithic structures and the spaces within them, and this is the feeling I wish to share with my audience. This is the feeling I try to convey in the photos through which I explore the shapes and textures of the stones. I try to capture the sublime, hoping that these images will be an invitation to the viewer to meditate on the earthy relationship between body and soul, a preoccupation which is palpable to anyone who stands for a few minutes in the midst of these stones.
There is by far much more than meets the eye as archaeological and scientific efforts help us to unravel only a small part of this mystery. There is a great deal which remains unknown, and it is precisely this void which has inspired me and has allowed me to re-interpret, and perhaps re-invent, that which haunts my camera.