Micaela Bogen has spent the past year delving into the forgotten history of Gozo’s matriarchal past. Inspired by folklore and mythology, she brings these stories to life through her art, using handmade recycled paper and relief printing techniques to reveal the power once held by women in Gozo and Malta.
To mark International Women’s Day, we speak with Micaela—environmental activist, human rights campaigner and feminist as well as an artist. Originally from Cambridge (UK), Micaela unexpectedly found herself settling in Qala, Gozo, in 2020 having spent five years working in European borderlands, advocating for displaced communities. Immersing herself in Gozo’s arts and culture scene, Micaela became increasingly intrigued by the stark contrast between the island’s historical reverence for the feminine and its present-day patriarchal structure. How did a society built on matriarchy become one that suppresses it?
These questions gave rise to her artwork, Women Rooted, deeply inspired by Sharon Blackie’s book, ‘If Women Rose Rooted.’ Blackie’s book exposes how the world was stripped of balance when women were torn from their roles as guardians of the Earth in Celtic history. It argues that the silencing of women and the destruction of nature go hand in hand – patriarchy severed our connection to the land, turning it into something to be conquered rather than nurtured.
As Micaela read Blackie’s words, she saw the same story unfolding around her: Gozo, an island with its own buried history of powerful women, priestesses, and goddesses who once shaped society and protected the land. “But today,” she says, “those women have been erased, and Gozo has been handed over to unchecked development and ruled by patriarchal values. The island’s wild spaces are vanishing, and with it, its history forgotten. In response, Micaela’s work became an act of defiance, resurrecting the feminine figures who once stood at the centre of this land. Through her art, she places them back in the forefront, where they belong, demanding that we remember – and reclaim – the power that was taken from the feminine and her role to protect the land.”
“Through folklore, mythology, and sacred architecture, we see that women were once revered, their influence woven into the fabric of society. The temples of Malta and Gozo, like many others worldwide, tell stories of formidable female figures – protectors of the land, builders of sacred spaces, and guardians of balance and harmony.
“But today, 12,000 years later, Earth is treated as a wasteland – exploited, forgotten, and dying. The stories of female power, once central to human existence, have been erased by patriarchal forces. Women, who once shaped and protected the world, are now marginalised. As their voices are silenced, the earth itself suffers.”
Micaela’s series, ‘L’Alla Mara’ – translated into ‘The God Woman’ (because there is no word for Goddess in Maltese) – reclaims this lost history, drawing from Malta’s temples and folklore to honour the forgotten power of woman. “The figurines found in these ancient sites were likely central to communal rituals, serving as conduits between the divine and the earthly,” she explains.
The series includes The Red Skorba Lady, who was found in the temple she is named after, the oldest representation of a human figurine ever found in Malta; and illustrations of the temples of Ggantija in Gozo & Tarxien in Malta reimagined as the shape of a female body, similar to the figurines found inside the temples; and goddesses printed with red ochre.
Micaela incorporates red ochre into her prints, a pigment used by ancient civilizations with deep spiritual significance. “Archaeologists discovered that the temples of Ġgantija were once painted using red ochre,” she continues. “Mythological accounts suggest that red ochre was considered a passage to the spirit world. In Aboriginal traditions, veins of ochre represent Earth’s circulatory system, linking the physical and spiritual realms. These connections suggest that red ochre in Ġgantija was not merely decorative but served a sacred purpose.”
Sourcing this pigment from beneath Gozo’s Goddess Rock, near Ħondoq, Micaela integrates the island’s ancient energies into her work. “I’m told that the Goddess Rock was a site where women sought fertility and prayed for safe childbirth. When you walk around this place, it’s easy to sense the echoes of those ancient rituals,” she says. “There’s even a hidden temple along an overgrown path, positioned to align with the sunrise over the Goddess Rock – just like other Neolithic sacred sites across the world.”
By reconnecting with these traditions, Micaela’s work calls for the revival of ancient wisdom and a renewed respect for the feminine – both essential for healing the earth and its people. Her art stands as a powerful reminder: if women remember their rightful place in history, they may not only save themselves but the world.
You can view both L’Alla Mara and her other work at the Spring Edition of Fresh Finds, Gozo’s Artisan Mercato at Mojo’s, Victoria, on March 29th from 4pm to 9pm. You can also find her work on her Instagram @women.rooted and on her Etsy shop.
