Malta's street art! These photos show us the most fantastic creations on local walls
Art is a weapon. It is one of the most powerful tools that man will ever possess. Art is not for the selected few but for the masses. It can be written in Maltese and be interpreted by an Eskimo. Art transcends the barriers and speaks to you. And, street art pops out at you, it shocks you, it wakes you, and it makes you feel.'
These are the simple yet profound terms by which street art is described on a Facebook page named Street Art Malta. Although it is in disuse (and the page Wall Street Art in Malta is a better one to follow) street art will, indeed, rarely display a simple picture. It will poke, provoke and make you think about yourself, contemporary life and everything that matters. Here's some of the best around the islands!
Wake-up call: are we consuming the planet?
This art piece relating to illegal immigration has its other half in Italy.
Drugs, self-harm, anyone?
Some of the graffiti found in public spaces is somewhat simpler - an expression that is more personal than public.
Still, in almost every case, street art brings flat, dead surfaces to life; it replaces blank space with a colourful message that gives the 'urban' something 'human'.
Some locations where one can find lots of street art include the abandoned Jerma Hotel in Marsascala, the Msida Skate Park, and Sliema due to the Sliema Art Festival held in the past years.
Gandalf and Gollum from the Lord of the Rings now live at the Germa Hotel.
Msida Skate Park is full of graffiti with stark messages such as this one.
Not only the skate park but also the tunnels crossing beneath it are full of graffiti art.
Whether the street art involves pictures or words, they tend to have a political or social issue, or both, at hand.
Finally, we got a word from two of Malta's most active street artists: James Micallef Grimaud aka Twitch and Chris De Souza Jensen aka SeaPuppy.
Twitch confirms, that for him"street art is a way of using my surroundings as a canvas. It's a way of bringing art into the streets. I use street art mainly as a way to tackle socio-political themes with a touch of satire. This tends to work well, since it's an art which is mostly in your face."
This mural by Twitch in Marsaxlokk shows Malta in a possible apocalyptic scenario arising from concern about this charming fishing village's future due to the power station built in its bay and the carelessness of greedy human beings.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the focus of this mural by Twitch in Msida, Malta.
For those interested, James Micallef Grimaud is holding an exhibition at St James Cavalier in November entitled 'A State of Limbo.'
SeaPuppy highlights the additional charm of the street art subculture, saying that "the best part of graff and street art is that it's practically the only type of art where it's encouraged to teamwork with other people. Being outside, while being both antisocial and social, to complete something grand with different styles, is where I personally find the greatest buzz."
Here's a side view of Paradise Exiles, Malta, as it looked in 2017 after SeaPuppy was at it.
'Galapagos' was a private commission that SeaPuppy created from many conversations with the client about the natural world and his encounters with animals world wide: "I tried to capture the experience of the client's real encounters and sightings with the profoundly special Galapagos Island creatures."
Not just a few young men and women vandalising walls with spray cans, street art is not just interesting, it is powerful, beautiful and an important way to see the world in a different way.