Mal-Baħar / Conversations with the Sea is a site-specific installation along the San Ġorġ breakwater pontoon (located next to the Birżebbuġa Local Council) which aims to create a physical and experiential path along the pontoon through the positioning and the interaction with objects in the space. These objects recall familiar settings and foster a thought journey through the locality’s past, present and possible future events.
The idea is to temporarily enhance the space’s potential and create the right environment to be able to extract narratives. The installation is thought not to be intrusive in the space, but to make full use of it – as the only public space left in the area that gives access out onto the sea. A long stretch of fabric rolled out along the pontoon, draping over its sides and extending to its far end will provide a canvas for the artist to collage elements from Birzebbuġa’s past, present and future events juxtaposing familiar objects and materials in the artist’s own interpretation, as well as, space on which locals will be encouraged to leave their own mark or write and draw excerpts of memories and feelings.
Objects scattered around the pontoon instigate the community members to contribute their experiences of love, loss and longing, reflecting the themes of
Orfeo & Majnun. The artist’s ideas, the physical landscape and the inhabitants’ stories will then come together on this stretch of cloth as one document that narrates the vibrant story of the place. The research process and outcomes of Mal-Baħar / Conversations with the Sea will feed into this year’s edition of
Design4DCity, a public intervention aimed to re-think part of the urban area close to Dawret il-Qalb Imqaddsa in Birżebbuġa.
Mal-Baħar / Conversations with the Sea will be taking place on the 6th September 2018 at the San Ġorġ breakwater pontoon in Birżebbuġa (located next to the Birżebbuġa Local Council) between 5-10pm.
