The Latitude 36 exhibition explores a part of Malta’s migration story through various artworks, including photographs, videos, and soundscapes, to name a few. This transmedia exhibition is impeccably set throughout the Blitz, with each room encompassing its own narrative relative to a migration story. Charlie Cauchi is the daughter of a Maltese migrant, thus presents this exhibition with understanding and a curiosity for learning more about the Maltese identity.

At the Blitz, you will find exhibits focusing on the Maltese diaspora in Tunisia, Australia, and London. There is also a photograph segment portraying Maltese houses and shops named after places across the globe, reminiscent of past emigration. The individual nature of each migration story, present even within the same location (personalised Australian tools), is mirrored in the physical set-up of the exhibition in separate rooms. Yet, all the rooms, and thus migration stories, still share common elements of the Maltese collective identity and how it shapes itself differently in a new context. This is a reminder that diaspora is more than merely a spread of people sharing the same geographical origin, but also identity.

I recommend this exhibition to anyone interested in the visual arts for the diversity it offers, but also to anyone interested in and willing to learn about the concept of identity and how it adapts in spite of its deep roots. The exhibition is on show at the Blitz Gallery in Valletta
until July 14th.

 

Maria Agius Muscat, St Aloysius College Sixth Form