Photos portraying traditional and modern-day Malta are currently on display at an international arts festival in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, this week. These include snapshots of a Maltese festa and a view of Sliema and St Julian’s as seen from Valletta.
The images form part of two sets of photos a Maltese educator and amateur photographer, who is currently living in Uzbekistan, is exhibiting at the country’s Academy of Arts as part of the International Festival of Fine and Applied Arts.
John Charles Fenech has been living abroad for nearly eight years. A graduate in translation and interpreting from the University of Granada, he lived in Spain and Jordan before moving to Uzbekistan, where he has been working as a teacher since last September. A keen traveller, he is passionate about travel and documentary photography and has published a photojournalism book about Palestine and Jordan.
“When I learned that Uzbekistan would host the International Festival of Fine and Applied Arts in Tashkent, I contacted the city’s Academy of Arts. After I presented my photographic work, they asked if I could specifically feature my photography of Malta and northern Spain,” Fenech told Times2.
Malta: Between Tradition and Modernization features five photos, specifically, three of the feast of St Helen in Birkirkara, one of a typical street in Vittoriosa, and another showing the rapidly changing cityscape in Sliema and St Julian’s as seen from Valletta.
“This exhibition aims to present Malta to people who might have never seen it before, highlighting traditions and the typical Maltese aesthetic, with elements like the traditional gallarija (balcony), while also showcasing the rapid modernisation the country is undergoing,” Fenech said.
His favourite photo features the statue of St Helen being carried down a narrow road during the feast of Birkirkara, his hometown.
“It reminds me of my childhood, when I used to attend the feast with my family. The festa is one of the traditional features of Malta that have been preserved with minimal changes since my childhood, at least in my opinion. During the festa, roads become pedestrianised and the whole town comes together. It’s not necessarily about religion, but about the local community. The fact that this feeling can be retained amid the rapid changes in the country is quite beautiful,“ he said.
‘Change is part of growth’
These changes are, however, not necessarily a bad thing in Fenech’s opinion.
“I believe change is part of growth. No culture is a monolith and our present-day culture is a product of the different layers of influence our islands have been exposed to in the course of history.“
Referring to the Valletta-Sliema-St Julian’s photo, he points out to how the yellow globigerina limestone of the Valletta buildings and the Sliema church contrasts sharply with the bluish and greyish hue of Mercury Towers in St Julian’s and the new apartment blocks.
“My goal is to show the reality in Malta, which is that of daily change”
“It is the reality Malta is facing. We all have opinions about this aesthetic change and how it can be handled differently, or not. However, my goal is to show the reality in Malta, which is that of daily change. The contrast in design and colours are the greatest visual representative of this multilayered change. I wanted to present an honest image of my country, and I feel this photograph represents present-day Malta.“
The other set of photos Fenech is exhibiting, titled A Glimpse into Northern Spain, focuses on aspects of three regions in the country’s far north. Three of them highlight the Celtic traditions in Asturias, including the Asturian bagpipes and the traditional ‘brañas‘ (high-altitude summer pastures) in Somiedo Natural Park. The other three photos showcase Basque culture and aesthetics in the Basque Country and Navarre, regions that share the same language and history.
Fenech is especially proud of showcasing his photos and his country’s culture in Uzbekistan.
“It is an honour for me to be doing this on different levels,” he said.
“It is an honour to have had the opportunity to live and work in Uzbekistan, a country in the heart of Asia, and to be given this chance to present my work in an international festival. It is also a privilege for me to present not only my home country, but also my hometown, Birkirkara, in a country in another continent where very few people know about Malta, let alone about Birkirkara!
“To have the chance to give visibility to Malta in Central Asia from a perspective which is not the usual tourist-driven one, is also an honour. It is a way for me to connect my home and origins to the country I’m currently based in.”
The International Festival of Applied and Fine Arts opened on Monday and runs until Friday, April 24. It also features representatives from China, South Korea, Russia, Turkey and France, among other countries. Notable artists taking part in the event include Turkish contemporary artist Burcu Gunay and French photographer Eric Gurlan. Events are taking place in eight venues in Tashkent, as well as in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and other regions of Uzbekistan.
