Johanna Barthet is presenting the sequel to her debut exhibition Stories Untold (2019) at the Salesian Theatre in Sliema. Through a collection of acrylic and oil paintings, the artist revisits her journey from childhood to adolescence in 1970s and 1980s Malta, capturing the era with nostalgia and humour.
The inspiration for Stories Revisited (2026) came from the venue itself.
“I seem to have returned to the scene of the crime! The Salesian Theatre used to be an old haunt of ours as kids. Every week they would open the theatre on Sunday afternoons and screen a movie,” Barthet, who is now in her 50s, recalls.
However, for many teenagers in those days − long before the age of mobile phones and social media − the cinema experience was never really about the movie.
“We went every Sunday, regardless of what was showing. The movies were never the latest ones; in fact, they were probably the lowest budget ones that had finally made it to that theatre. I remember Lassie, Evel Knievel, The Black Pirate, Herbie… but who cared? We weren’t in it for the film. In fact, we probably never even watched!,” she laughs.
Instead, going to the cinema was a kind of social ritual ‒ dressing up in treasured outfits, nervously exchanging glances with boys and experiencing the awkward excitement of early adolescence.
“At age 11 or 12… I discovered boys. My mum would iron (yes iron!) my frizzy hair and off I went. 25c would get me an entrance ticket, a packet of Cocks crisps and a Splicer [a fruit-flavoured chewy bar from Rowntree’s]. There would be giggles, glances and a bit of hair pulling from the boys in the seat behind you,” Barthet reminisces.
The exhibition captures these deeply personal yet widely relatable memories with warmth and wit. But apart from the dating scene, paintings such as Għar id-Dud (Il-bankarella ta’ Kalanċ) evoke a bygone Sliema where communities felt close-knit and traditions shaped everyday life − from baptism celebrations to Holy Communion processions.
Other works revisit the freedom of endless summer holidays, beach days and childhood adventures before school days returned.
Although many paintings feature groups of characters, the recurring figure of the young artist herself remains central. Unlike in her earlier work, however, she is no longer portrayed as isolated, even if certain pieces still hint at loneliness and alienation.
In In a file, Barthet reflects on the anxiety of returning to school after summer and the discomfort she felt as a child trying to fit into systems and expectations that never quite suited her personality.
“Unfortunately, I was born on October 3, so it wasn’t the first time that my birthday fell on the first day of school. We had a system where every week, one girl was awarded a ‘golden’ badge based on her behaviour or some act of kindness or, in my case, my birthday!,” she says.
“Little did they know that it was far from a reward to me! I was horrified to have to lead the file, hold the teacher’s books or handbag, be sent like a messenger from one classroom to the other if the teacher needed something and, horror of horrors, to keep the class quiet in her absence! Some pious kids even took note of the girls who were misbehaving to report back to the teacher on her return.
“I always felt so confused because so many things my peers seemed to go loopy about were things I total abhorred! I felt like a fish out of water. I would feel so different to everyone else.”
Stylistically, the exhibition is brighter and more animated than some of Barthet’s previous work, yet beneath the vibrant palette lies a deeper theme of self-compassion and reconnecting with one’s inner child − a continuation of ideas explored in her 2023 collection Coming Home to Me.
Ultimately, Stories Revisited invites viewers to reconnect with their own childhood memories, dreams, fears and quirks, while offering a heartfelt portrait of growing up in Malta decades ago.
The exhibition, which opened on Friday, runs until June 15. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 9am to 3pm and Sundays from 8am to 1pm.
