Malta’s memories are under threat. With the landscape around us shifting, fracturing, and forced to mould into an imagined future we never planned for, for many, the past is – swiftly – being eradicated. Maltese migrants, who left the island decades ago return to find a homeland markedly changed. A home they no longer recognise.  

Magna Zmien, a project coordinated by artistic director Andrew Alamango, is seeking to gather memories of the past by digitising people’s personal photos, Super 8s, video cassettes and audio reels – masses of analogue material hidden in home collections – to create a picture of an island, a society and a people. And these gems of Malta’s past are being are being shared with the Magnificent Memories Machine (aka Kapsula Merill), a device which is touring the islands using artistic interventions to reflect upon the images and sounds gathered, tying the binds which bring us together as a community.

“We’re losing our memories and that’s because of a lack of reference”, Andrew Alamango explains. “We’re getting to a crucial point where we either lose much of this material, and many of our collective memories, or we digitise it, save it, access it and preserve it for the future.” A mainstay of the project is the application of the material in creative ways: Alamango and his team have commissioned sound and visual artists to use the material to design ways in which the public can reflect and interact with the collection. “The aim is to produce as many artistic products as possible – such as videos and soundtracks - and to work with creatives to produce this work. The machine itself is going around advocating for the digitisation of all these images and sounds, and we have already gathered 200 hours of film as well as thousands of photographs and audio cassettes,” he said.

These capsules of the past tell stories which may have been forgotten – or never known – by those living on the island today. Andrew spoke of audio reels the team discovered, which contained heart-felt messages from loved ones living away from the island. “These are hugely emotional and moving. Audio messages were sent by the Maltese diaspora back home, and there are conversations of an hour and a half to family members still here; some people saying, ‘not one day goes by that I don’t miss Malta.’ We sometimes forget that the Maltese had to migrate – not because they wanted to – so these are essential references to the migration of people. When they would come back to the island on holiday, from Australia for example, with a cine-camera and audio reel, they would even go around the village and take recordings,” he stated.

Folk music and popular music were also important in the formation of Maltese identity. “The audio reel was especially important here. When people felt about something strongly – when words were not enough – they would break into song. Today, we’ve lost the desire to express ourselves in song, but these are our memories which we’ll now be able to access,” Andrew continued. 

One of the project’s next ‘landings’, following the success of its appearance at Science in the City last week and after its Notte Bianca outing this coming weekend, is in Kalkara. “In Kalkara we came across an amazing collection of prints by a gentleman who used to work with the DOI from the 1940s-1960s. He focuses on the people of Kalkara and it’s a beautiful reference to the town,” Andrew explained. And, Magna Zmien has showcased material in Gozo, Mellieha, and Siggiewi. “We do a lot of research in collecting fragments of the past and, then, we go back to the community, reflecting back to the people there what we have gathered,” he said. 

But, research takes time and involves months of building trust, solidifying relationships and getting to know the community at the heart of these stories. “We have no interest in commercially using this material. We are just trying to encourage people not to hold on to it and to accept a culture of sharing: if we share we all win but if we hold on to something, it disintegrates and we all lose it. But we are very conscious that this needs to be done with sensitivity,” the artistic director said. 

The scale of the project will extend beyond this year, and the team are looking for ways in which to continue contributing to Malta’s communities by preserving their memories. “We’re setting up a foundation to see what the next steps are, and we have identified substantially important collections, so we need to see what to take on next. In December the funding stops but we need to find money for studio space, storage for the machine and so on – there’s lots to do!” Andrew said. And, with trips to Australia and Canada also in the pipeline, the project is even set to travel beyond our shores.  But, until then, the Magnificent Memories Machine can be experienced in Valletta (this Saturday!), as well as in Kalkara and Siggiewi over the coming two months.

For details on the next ‘landings’, and more information should you have analogue material to share, click here.