Multidimensional identity in creative Maltese nationals abroad

22 Creative Maltese in Parallel » Part 4

Part 4: Multidimensional identity in creative Maltese nationals abroad

According to Akhtar(1995), these lines (opposite) from the poem The Immigrant Jew by Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, capture the essence of “psychic fracturing” that immigrants tend to experience in their move from one place to another. He explains that the immigrant can be caught between the past and the present, thereby going through a “temporal discontinuity in the self-experience”. Akhtar(1995) explains that this emergence of a “hybrid identity” is a result of a mixture of culture shock and a mourning over loss. In this study I refer to this “hybrid identity” as a multidimensional identity. Some participants refer to it as added “layers” of identity. The idea of a multidimensional identity is that a person creates several different versions of themselves according to places he/she visits, people he/she meets and cultures he/she accustoms his/herself to. There are of course links between these identities, especially when a person migrates to a country that has historical ties to his/ her country of origin, but even if this is not the case, humans tend to look for similarities in the unrelated. This is why these “layers” become different “dimensions” of one whole identity, stemming from the same source, but going in different directions.

Dr. Debono gave me an example of how someone can adopt a multiple identity according to particular circumstances. She refers to a person who left Mali and who had

a very difficult journey to Europe. She explains that this person now holds a very successful position in Europe. He has not only adapted, but he has done his best to immerse himself within the culture without ignoring aspects of his past experience when he represents himself. “Identity is very much linked to the representation of oneself. When he speaks to me, he’s very careful to not project himself as an African, he presents himself as a successful European. I’ve seen him with his African friends, and there even his body language changes a lot, so there’s also this idea that identity is fluid and is not fixed. It can change during a lifetime intentionally or not, but also you can have multiple identities at the same time.” (Dr.Daniela Debono, Video-call Interview, 2018). Francois Cheng, as quoted by Akhtar(1995) in A Third Individualisation: Immigration, Identity and the Psychoanalytic Process describes this circumstance quite eloquently, “...the immigrant lives in two linguistic worlds, pronouncing his own name in two different ways, and switching with relief to his mother tongue once the workday is over. However, such aching polyglottism adds to the splitting of selfrepresentations.” (Francois Cheng, 1985, as quoted by Akthar, 1995).

23 Creative Maltese in Parallel » Part 4

“I am two. One looks back, the other turns to the sea. The nape of my neck seethes with good-byes and my breast with yearning.”

24 Creative Maltese in Parallel » Part 4

Would you say that living in different countries/places has added multiple dimensions/layers to your identity?

Yes No 89 % 11 %

25 Creative Maltese in Parallel » Part 4

Marco Scerri explains that in a creative context, it’s similar to having two different languages. A creative immigrant usually has to think twice about how to respond to a creative problem, because of the presence of a “dual dimension” and different channels of thinking. Marco states that from a creative point of view, he finds these added dimensions very useful. He says that he needs to readjust his ways of thinking whenever he travels from Scotland to Malta and vice versa,... “but then there’s always a central point” he continues, referring to Freud’s three pysche components (the Id, Ego and Superego) and adding that in the end it is these agencies that form our way of being and thinking. “In this multidimensionality, you have different entities that cause friction between them, and that friction creates new viewpoints on home, on foreign lands. That friction informs my work in an interesting way, and it’s one of the things I appreciate most on a cultural and personal level because it gives me different outlooks and perspectives. I can only see it as being positive.“ (Marco Scerri, Face-to-face interview, 2018). “Is there even any personality left once you remove those layers?” asks Stephanie Scicluna. Stephanie feels that these multiple layers are not just a product of living in different countries but also a result of growing up. She states that growing up in Malta she felt she was very limited in experiences and opportunities for personal creative growth, and by living in different places, she was forced to step outside of her comfort zone and develop parts of her identity that she was never aware of. “I am who I am today because of the places I’ve been and people I’ve met. None of which would have been possible in Malta.” (Stephanie Scicluna, Email Interview, 2018). Michael Quinton feels that these multiple dimensions of an identity are definitely a positive and that he aspires to have such an identity. Michael explains that he doesn’t like to be stuck in a particular frame of mind or with a particular identity, and he is always questioning why he believes in certain things. Michael believes that a person develops when they add “multilayers” and he finds they are essential particularly in people who live in more than one country. “The longer you stay in a place, the longer you start seeing similarities between different places. They have a tendency to merge. Perhaps people have distinct attitudes based on which countries you’re living in. The longer you stay in a place, the longer it starts feeling like the previous place or the place before that.” (Fabrizio Mifsud Solder, Video-call Interview, 2018).

Claudia Baldacchino feels that the multiple dimensions of her identity “mix well” and “intertwine”. She refers to aspects of being loud that she links to her Malteseness, but attributes her shyness to her English side. Not all participants linked their multidimensional identity to the experience of living in different countries. Inez Baldacchino says that the multiple layers of identity had always been present in her life, but she puts that down to the fact that her mother is not Maltese, and that she could speak Norwegian from a young age. She says that she looks more Norwegian than Maltese, and having lived in Malta for most of her life, this has always presented her with a “kind of duality”, therefore she never really fitted in with the ideas of what the Maltese person is meant to be like.

Marietta Mifsud, a Brighton-based designer, feels that multiple layers are added to a person throughout their life, no matter the country that they live in, whereas Daniela states that she has lived through certain experiences that have shaped her, that she would not have been through in Malta. She adds that she takes bits of experiences from her layers of identity and applies this to her work as well. “Time is not a causal factor of change of identity only. In a specific time and space, you can have multiple identities in the same cities depending on the group you’re with. Integration or adapting to a culture doesn’t mean removing your past experience, it can mean tapping into different parts of yourself in order to fit with different groups.” (Dr. Daniela Debono, Video-call Interview, 2018). “It was not simply owing to the stressful circumstances attending the emigration that I became newly creative. It was rather that, with the stress came new vistas, new curiosity, new opportunities, and vital new sources of collegiate support.” (Mahler in Stepansky, 1988, p.1211 as quoted by Akhtar, 1995).

26 Creative Maltese in Parallel » Conclusion

Conclusion

Does the Maltese creative need to travel or live abroad to grow creatively and enhance his/her identity, or is the fact that the Maltese creative scene is still “uncharted” as Marco Scerri calls it, exciting in itself that Maltese creatives should stay and exploit it to its full potential?

Lisa Gwen Baldacchino feels that Malta is going through a very strange and difficult period in its history. “Some people want to fight and be part of that change, other people would prefer to distance themselves” she adds. She attributes this to a number of different things on a lot of different levels. Lisa thinks that a sense of escapism plays a role and that people want to reinvent themselves, they want new challenges and Malta can be very limiting. “You can take that as a challenge in itself, or you can decide to play with the big guns. The challenge here can be too much. I’ve tried that challenge for a number of years now and I realise that some things I’ve managed to do, but some things where I really wanted to affect change – it’s been near impossible, so I get that, this disappearing.” (Lisa Gwen Baldacchino, Video-call Interview, 2018). Lisa states that despite this, and even though creatives can be critical of Malta, they tend to refer back to it in their work because they feel an “incredible sense of nostalgia” and a “pull”. She puts their frustration down to the framework of the country and the way that it’s governed, but she still sees a great potential in the island. Lisa feels that at the present time there doesn’t seem to be a balance between this lack of structure and the potential of the island, but she is positive that it will happen eventually. “You leave because of structure and yet the charm, the colour, the people, the general warmth is what keeps you there and what keeps you coming back and what keeps you missing it.” (Lisa Gwen Baldacchino, Videocall Interview, 2018). Marco Scerri agrees that the creative sector in Malta is still not well established and requires a more solid support structure to aid its development. Because of this reason, he feels that Maltese creatives need to travel to push their practice. There is an absence of contemporary art and design museums and archives in Malta, Marco adds, whereas in other countries these would be easily available and accessible. “An experience of external creative sectors is vital for the development of Malta’s creative climate”.

Marco accepts that were he not living in Scotland, he would not have embarked on his present project, where he is looking to archive the works of his grandfather who was a graphic designer in Malta between the 1950s and 1970s.

27 Creative Maltese in Parallel » Conclusion

“I’ve developed an interest in exploring archives, by responding creatively to them” he continues. Marco gives examples of residencies for artists and designers within different archives across the UK. “After I’ve seen how these approaches are being applied here in the UK, I’ve been thinking of ways in which such creatives practices could be utilised in the exploration of our rich archived collections back home.” Whenever he goes to Malta, Marco says that he feels more confident and enthusiastic to use the tools he acquired in Scotland, in Malta.

Marco refers back to the Maltese and Mediterranean cultures, which have been formed largely by trade and exchange throughout the years. He states that Malta, due to its history and geographic position, is perfectly placed to appreciate the multidimensional development of a culture through the acceptance of external influences. “I consider it useful and positive for any creative individual to experience a foreign cultural identity, before they establish their position and practice within their native cultural identity. (Marco Scerri, face-to-face interview, 2018). Most participants seem to agree that the Maltese are quite a unique bunch, but who are unfortunately, largely unaware or unappreciative of their multicultural history and diverse genetic-make-up. This seems to result in many Maltese, including Maltese creatives, to constantly compare themselves to foreigners, and largely feeling that they are somehow inferior.

It is predominantly when we are away from Malta for a period of time that we start to see the “charm” of Malta. Perhaps this is because we are not directly experiencing the structure and political system, so we can more accurately access our identity without being self-critical, and allow ourselves to add further dimensions to it, to keep building onto it. A few months ago I was having lunch with my husband on a communal table at a restaurant in Edinburgh. There was an Italian couple to the right of us, and a Scottish one to the left. I soon came to a realisation that even though we could understand the languages of both of these couples, they could not understand us. I felt this was truly a privileged position to be in, and it is something that we share with other Mediterranean citizens, such as the Cypriots, who have a similar mixture of Eastern and Western influence in their culture and gene pool.

In The Return: A Father’s Disappearance, a Journey Home, an article from the New Yorker, Hisham Matar(2013) writes that his move from Libya to New York rewarded him with a “skill” that he worked hard to cultivate, “...how to live away from places and people I love”, and he felt that were he to return to Libya even briefly, would rob him of that skill. He refers to Joseph Brodsky, Nabokov and Conrad, as artists who never returned to their countries in order to “cure” themselves of it.

“But Dmitri Shostakovich and Boris Pasternak and Naguib Mahfouz were also right; never leave the homeland. Leave and your connections to the source will be severed. You will be like a dead trunk, hard and hollow.” (Matar, 2013).

“What do you do when you cannot leave and cannot return?” he asks. Indeed the hardest question for participants to answer was one that asked whether they would eventually return to Malta. While some said they would, others said they feel they cannot go back, with most experiencing a deep inner conflict.

Moving and living abroad is still associated with a sense of growth, particularly creative growth because many feel we’re still lacking behind in Malta’s cultural sector. As much as the Maltese creative tends to miss Malta, they are often fearful that going back would deprive them of the artistic and culturally diverse ‘food’ they have accustomed themselves to, particularly those living in developed cities.

“Being away heightens the feeling of home” Marco Scerri explains. When we move away from our country of origin, we come to realise what we have lost, but also what we have gained. The Maltese creative tends to feel relieved when they settle in a country that has a better cultural infrastructure, but soon realises that the imperfections of Malta are what make it such an intriguing subject, with a myriad of possibilities to explore. Having discovered new dimensions to their identity and having stepped out of the small island bubble, is when the Maltese creative usually understands their Maltese identity and often works this Malteseness it into his/her artistic projects.

References

Abulafia, D. (2011). The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean. Reprint edition. Allen Lane.

Akhtar, S. (1995). A Third Individuation: Immigration, Identity and the Psychoanalytic Process. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, [online] Volume 43(4). Available at: http://journals.sagepub. com/doi/10.1177/000306519504300406 [Accessed 1 May. 2018].

Dench, G. (1975). Maltese in London. Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC.

Matar, H. (2013). The Return: A Father’s Disappearance, A Journey Home. The New Yorker, [online]. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/ magazine/2013/04/08/the-return-8 [Accessed 15 April. 2018].