Places – Design & Living (February 2019)

PLACES ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2019

Design & Living

THE ‘OTHER’ STATE PORTRAITS Malta’s flora and fauna preserved on presidential palace wall paintings

Massive detail

IN MINIATURE [DOLL’S] HOUSES

HOUSE OF WORSHIP

BELIEVING IN THE MORE-IS-MORE PHILOSOPHY LIFE IN A CONVERTED CHAPEL

The antiporta in social interaction Rekindling nostalgia and extending its lifespan

Drawn by the light Five storeys up to an oculus onto a Valletta sky

THE BLUEPRINT

PLACES

Design & Living

ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2019

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MY DESIGN

THE PROJECT 10 The Anatomy of a Home Five floors to the light in a renovated Valletta townhouse 20 Losing its Religion Converting a chapel to a high-drama home 30 IF WALLS COULD TALK Portraits of ‘Other’ Residents of Malta Botanical-themed wall paintings at the President’s palace 38 IDEAS & MORE HOME DÉCOR 42 DOING IT UP: DO/DON’T A Man’s Home is His Castle Open up to the right doors and shut out the problems 44 TRENDS Somewhere Between Modern and Traditional Recipes for transitional kitchens 49 TIPS The Temperature of Your Colour Different sides of light 52 PROJECT PEOPLE Life in Miniature The detail in doll’s houses DESTINATION, HERITAGE & ENVIRONMENT 56 GOING PLACES The City in the City Architectural Valencia through a photographer’s lens 61 CONSERVATION CORNER Forbidden Entry The antiporta needs to come back home 64 ON SHOW Artist in Retrospect Veteran painter going strong at 70

ON THE COVER PHOTO: EDDY WENTING See story on page 30

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PHOTO: SEAN MALLIA See story on page 20

PHOTO: BRIAN GRECH

MY DESIGN

FROM NOW on, I won’t be all gushingly apologetic for being late. It simply has to be expected that we won’t get to our destinations in time. Such is life in Malta; predicting traffic jams and planning to avoid them is no longer an option.

To avoid frustration, I just go with the flow... Where that takes me and how long it takes is beyond my control and I resolve to remain calm and expect those on the other end of my journey to accept our lot too.

But probably worse than possible tardiness is the fact that the problem of traffic on our densely populated island is being tackled by widening roads into fields and countryside, eating more of that limited greenery, while causing more congestion in the process.

Of course, we should be patient and ignore the bite into another chunk of our quality of life in the meantime. We have to live with it because, only in Malta, it would appear to be the solution to our commute problems and apparently there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel… If our streets are paved with gold, then the wider the better, you’d think.

Never mind that, in the process, we are turning overcrowded Malta into a clogged and soulless grid of wider roads and taller buildings that needs no accomplished artist to depict it: the loose shape of a fish, crammed with disproportionately wide,

long and characterless horizontal and vertical lines, would sum up our landscape.

No need for detail. There is none. After all, the ‘architecture’ could also be the work of a child using Lego to build uninteresting and uninspiring blocks – with no offence to children.

I think I’d opt for the bottlenecks and blockages instead of this so-called solution. I’d pull out an issue of PLACES: DESIGN & LIVING to while away the time as I breathe in the fumes of other stationary cars; to take my mind off the road works, developments and heavy vehicles that are causing the chaos; and to focus on the good that is buried somewhere underneath it all out there…

While the natural habitat of our flora and fauna gets dug up as we speak, I could enjoy the images of Dutch artist Peter Korver’s beautiful botanical-themed ceiling paintings and monumental panels in the redecorated San Anton Palace, as depicted in IF WALLS COULD TALK on page 30.

Before we know it, we may have to resort to these artworks to be able to visualise those elements of nature that we so strongly associate with our island.

Even Korver could home in on, understand and appreciate – apart from paint – our plant life, native species, symbolic animals, as they emerged from his research, his brave bicycle rides around the island, his history and biology background, and his fascination with what makes a country unique.

But the danger of cycling in Malta would not even allow bikes to be an alternative to alleviate the traffic situation.

So as we sit in our cars and inch our way through polluted streets, we can at least rest assured that the endemic wall lizards, hawk moths, turtledoves and everything that was deeply rooted in the now uprooted soil around us, have been immortalised in the Grand Salon… and in the pages of this magazine.

February 24, 2019 | Issue 25 | PLACES is a bi-monthly magazine | EXECUTIVE EDITOR Fiona Galea Debono | PUBLISHER Allied Newspapers Ltd | PRODUCTION Allied Newspapers Ltd | PRINTING Progress Press Ltd | DESIGN Manuel Schembri | ADVERTISING SALES Veronica Grech Sant [2276 4333; veronica.grechsant@timesofmalta.com]

This publication is being distributed as part of © 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole, or in part, without written permission of the publishers, is prohibited.

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THE PROJECT

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THE ANATOMY OF A HOME British artist Madeleine Fenwick moved to Malta to make the most of the islands’ “unique” light. Since then, she has taken over a property in Valletta, which she has renovated with the help of Forward Architects. Here, Iggy Fenech gets a tour of her quirky home.

PHOTOS: MARK CAUCHI; JONATHAN BORG

Upon opening the door to Madeleine Fenwick’s Old Theatre Street property, the eyes are immediately drawn to the old Maltese tiles, which are framed by a huge painting to the left, a gated door at the very end of the hall, and a staircase to the right.

Taking just a few steps forward, the whole scene guides you upwards as five storeys of wrought-iron railings spiral to reveal a spectacular elliptical skylight in the ceiling, where the sky becomes an ever-changing landscape.

“I love the perfect symmetry of the oculus,” Madeleine smiles.

“There’s nothing like seeing the stars, the moon and the infinite stairway reflected in it at night; or the light of the blue void as I run up and down the stairs during the day.”

For Madeleine, this house isn’t just a home; it’s a passion – one that clearly elates her every time she sets foot in it. And it must be said that she can’t be blamed for being thrilled because, on top of it being a spectacular home, it is also, clearly, the materialisation of her quirky character, while also doubling as a studio – and an inspiring one at that.

“I moved to Malta almost five years ago for a very particular reason – the light,” she reveals. “I was here on holiday, floating around in the Blue Lagoon in Comino with some of my dearest friends when I suddenly had this eureka moment that compelled me to move to Malta.

The light here is so bright, and the shadows so sharp, it is almost incomparable to anywhere else I have found.

“The islands’ surroundings of clear blue skies and crystal blue seas combine to reflect the most incredible luminosity, which makes it the perfect environment for an artist, as well as a great antidote to my years in London with its concrete gloom and endless grey clouds.”

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IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I CLIMBED TO THE ROOF AND DISCOVERED I COULD SEE THE GREAT DOME OF THE CARMELITE CHURCH AND THE SPIRE OF ST PAUL’S ANGLICAN PRO-CATHEDRAL RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE, WITH MDINA CROWNING THE WESTWARD HORIZON. I ALMOST COLLAPSED IN EXCITEMENT! Sure enough, a year later, she rented a property in the Three Cities – where she “adored living” – but always found herself gravitating to the “surreal streets” and “steep steps” of Valletta. The more she saw of the capital, the more she fell in love with it, so when the time came for her to find a permanent home here, Valletta was at the top of her list.

“When I found this enchanting slice of Valletta, I let go of my dream of having a big garden and embraced this property’s view. I mean, imagine my surprise when I climbed to the top of the roof and discovered that I could see the great dome of the Carmelite Church and the spire of St Paul’s

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Anglican pro-Cathedral right under my nose, with Mdina crowning the westward horizon. I almost collapsed in excitement!”

The house immediately showed great potential, though it was not an easy project. Probably the most challenging aspect for Forward Architects, entrusted with the renovation, was making the five storeys, consisting basically of one room on top of another, work as an entire space.

“From the basement to the rooftop, I wanted to create a series of liminal spaces, each with its own individual character, inhabited with the changing moods of the light of night and day…

At least, that is what I wanted when I signed up to the slightly-biggerthan-I-realised renovation project that this house was to become!”

All salvageable elements were carefully restored. These, coupled with a sensitive, restricted choice of traditional and natural materials, focused on maintaining the legibility of the existing spaces, gave Madeleine a base palette for the rest of the décor.

“We used stone, marble and traditional ceramic tiles as core materials for the dwelling,” she continues. “For the bathroom, meanwhile, we used slate for its impermeable nature.

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THERE’S NOTHING LIKE SEEING THE STARS, THE MOON AND THE INFINITE STAIRWAY REFLECTED IN IT AT NIGHT; OR THE LIGHT OF THE BLUE VOID AS I RUN UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS DURING THE DAY “Of course, we were aware of the problems of humidity in Malta, so Forward Architects’ design intelligently created good airflows for climate control, with the house’s idiosyncratic structure proving a great help in this.”

Indeed, even the colours of the interior walls and plasterwork – in white and a subtle shade of warm grey – were inspired by this.

“The architects teased me for having to take so many paint samples to decide the perfect shade of grey,”

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she recounts, laughing. “But I was very happy with the final choice, which alludes to the serene nature of the neoclassical style the house had been built in while also complementing the original patterned tiles.”

The only thing that contrasts this calmness is the oak flooring upstairs, which was installed for warmth, and the polished concrete in the garden studio.

The latter space was very important to Madeleine; in fact, the whole house is filled with plants, with

the terraces and outdoor spaces injected with lush, dense vegetation, contrasting with the bare rooftops of her neighbours.

But this was no afterthought: not only did she plant her courtyard creeper before the work had even begun to give it time to establish itself, but she also got in touch with a Chelsea Flower Show-winning supplier of artificial grasses to turn her dream of having a lawn into a reality.

“The ‘green carpet’, as the builders dubbed it, was shipped along with

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THE ARCHITECTS TEASED ME FOR HAVING TO TAKE SO MANY PAINT SAMPLES TO DECIDE THE PERFECT SHADE OF GREY, BUT THE ONE WE CHOSE ALLUDES TO THE SERENE NATURE OF THE NEOCLASSICAL STYLE THE HOUSE HAD BEEN BUILT IN WHILE ALSO COMPLEMENTING THE ORIGINAL PATTERNED TILES deep insulating foam cushioning to make a little soft patch of green in the sky,” Madeleine, who had spent some time working with urban landscape gardeners in London, explains.

“Once it was installed, and all the plants were in their respective places and the hammock had been set up, I was finally able to enjoy my patch of bliss.”

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And that is truly the spirit of this home: from the floating garden in the middle of the city, to the cosy kitchen complete with an armchair by the fireplace, Madeleine’s home stands testament to the opportunities we can unwrap through respectful and restrained design.

WWW.FORWARD-ARCHITECTS.COM

THE PROJECT

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PHOTOS: SEAN MALLIA

LOSING ITS RELIGION

This chapel outside of London was converted to a home and is all about William Morris patterns, Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite inspiration and lots of high drama. Matt Stuttle, a self-confessed fan of the more-is-more philosophy, tells the story behind this house of worship and what it is like to live in a former church.

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ORIGINALLY a chapel of ease – a smaller Anglican church built between villages for the convenience of parishioners too old or infirm to make it to the nearest place of worship – this was built in 1874 by John George Blencowe.

As time passed, it was used less frequently and was briefly passed on to the Catholic Church, but eventually, in the 1980s, it was left vacant.

A number of different uses were proposed, but eventually, planning permission to convert it into a private home was granted in 2010 and it was put up for open bids. Matt Stuttle, a techie by day, set

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eyes on the chapel in Chailey, Sussex, and thought it was worth a shot…

Together with Viviana Sciara, who studies interior design, they immediately saw its potential to be converted into a home. The church was in exceptional condition for the time it had been left unoccupied, and the conversion tried to keep as much of the interior space untouched and intact.

Although it had been empty for a while, fortunately, there was little frost damage, or any other material problems.

SOMETIMES, THERE WERE CONFLICTING NEEDS – THE BUILDING INSPECTOR WANTED CLADDING TO MAKE IT ENERGY EFFICIENT, WHEREAS THE CONSERVATION OFFICER WANTED TO CHANGE AS LITTLE OF THE FABRIC AS POSSIBLE As regards obstacles with permits, Matt says the Church of England had obtained the main planning permission, which helped a lot, but the two had to deal with several bodies, including the Church Commissioners, the listed building conservation officer

and the building inspector at the planning office, as well as the tree officer – the yew trees on the grounds being protected.

Sometimes, there were conflicting needs – the building inspector wanted cladding to make it energy efficient, whereas the conservation officer wanted to change as little of the fabric as possible.

Conversions are always a headache – even from house to house. So, it’s no surprise that turning a chapel into a home could prove to be even more complicated in terms of what was missing and how to make up for it, incorporate it, or adapt it.

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FINDING A WAY TO ADD EXTERIOR WINDOWS THAT WERE IN KEEPING WITH THE BUILDING WAS ALSO DIFFICULT

In this case, the main problem was the lack of an upstairs; adding a floor needed careful engineering, using a cantilevered structure that would not put any stress on the walls of the building.

Finding a way to add exterior windows that were in keeping with the building was also difficult.

As for the usual setbacks along the way… there was an issue with the builders already before official planning permission had been granted, plus a utility company nearly cut off the roots of a protected tree, Matt recalls. Luckily, both were remedied with the relevant people at the council.

The final look and feel of this property were heavily inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, an international movement in the decorative and fine arts that began in Britain and flourished in Europe and North America between 1880 and 1920 and stood for traditional craftsmanship, using simple forms, as well as medieval, romantic, or folk styles of decoration.

The movement has a heavy influence throughout the area, especially the prints of William Morris, which can be found in many of the local period buildings, Matt explains.

“For the age and the area, William Morris was an obvious choice – the selection of patterns is fantastic, but also features in a number of nearby historical buildings like the Red House, or Standen House in West Sussex, a National Trust Arts and Crafts family home with Morris & Co. interiors, set in a hillside garden.”

Inspiration was also sought from the Victorian era, the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Florence and the Machine… All this was somehow translated

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into the interior design and came together without being a cacophony mostly thanks to the careful eye of Viviana, who was able to select and blend complementary prints, using the same motif, with the cushions and other soft furnishings tying back into the wallpaper and paint used.

The furniture used to bring out this mood was mostly found on eBay, with a long search for things that would fit together and match each other. The Morris prints are, fortunately, available in a number of

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formats, Matt points out, and the paint was chosen to tie in with the existing tiles and other features.

The high-drama element of this property is a far cry from the modern and minimalist looks we have been seeing for a while. But whether that is a somewhat cold and one-size-fits-all approach to design, which has passed its sell-by date, or whether more character, which brings out the true personality of the owners, is the way forward in interiors is really a matter of personal taste, according to Matt.

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“For us, we’ve always been fans of the more-ismore philosophy and Viviana is great at carefully blending prints and patterns to complement them.”

The property still contains some religious features, including the tiles of the Ten Commandments for instance, and the dossal wall. And there’s still a cemetery outside as well!

“Yes, the building still has a religious feel, but for us, it’s just character…”

Probably the glass display cabinet in the centre of the chancel is Matt’s favourite piece. It was found at an antique shopfitting store in Islington, D & A Binder, and provides an “amazing focal point”.

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As for a favourite corner, that’s probably to the right of the main chancel, with its stained-glass window by Charles Eamer Kempe, a Victorian designer and manufacturer of stained glass, whose studios produced over 4,000 windows as well as designs for altars and altar frontals, lychgates and memorials that helped to define a later 19th-century Anglican style.

“Honestly, there is probably nothing we would have done differently,” Matt says of the conversion.

“The only thing would possibly be to change the glass staircase to something more in keeping with the building – a project for another day!”

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PHOTOS: EDDY WENTING

PORTRAITS OF ‘OTHER’ RESIDENTS OF MALTA Dutch artist Peter Korver’s walls can talk… They speak not only of the flora and fauna that inhabit Malta as featured in his botanical wall paintings in San Anton Palace’s Grand Salon, but they also convey other messages. These subtler details are not the subject of the panel and ceiling artwork, so they may go by unnoticed, but they are part of the “internal anatomy” of it all, of its intensity, just as much as its colour, or the quality of the brushstrokes.

HOW DID you, a Dutch artist, end up painting the panels and ceiling of the Grand Salon of the redecorated 17th-century San Anton Palace? During the summer of 2015, I received an e-mail from Lisa Carson at the Malta/Milan-based design firm DAAA Haus, inquiring about some ceilings and paintings for their restoration project at San Anton Palace, which was just getting started… The idea grew silent and I later understood they had been under quite some pressure getting the first stages of the project finished in time for the Commonwealth Summit later that year.

We got into contact again almost two years later and the request was now much more clearly defined, focusing on a botanical theme for the Grand Salon.

It is a field I have been specialising in for over a decade. Working from an academic background in biology, history and art, I design new decorational programmes for historical monuments, telling their stories by using painted botanical and zoological imagery.

From then on, the process developed quite rapidly; a year later, the first set of painted panels for the palace walls was flown to Malta.

architectural quality present and many stories that can be brought out.

You have to match the quality, though, or enhance it. If you can’t do that, or even worse, if you’re not able to see the difference, it’s probably better not to touch things. I really feel that moral obligation, or ethical responsibility. Well, let’s say this ‘matching the original historical quality’ is what I aim at. It is the ambition.

Does working in a presidential palace, a place of national and political importance, have an impact on the way you approach your work due to the sensitivity?

Certainly, in a national and political setting as this palace, everything tends to acquire a stronger meaning. This being a very powerful tool, it also comes with a certain responsibility. All subject matter you bring to the surface here and into the images is immediately articulated and comes into view in a political sense.

If you put a painting on the walls of a house, this says something about the person who lives there. If you put up something here, it says something about this country, and so, by definition, it becomes political.

ALL SUBJECT MATTER YOU BRING TO THE SURFACE HERE AND INTO THE IMAGES IS IMMEDIATELY ARTICULATED AND COMES INTO VIEW IN A POLITICAL SENSE Compared to all your other commissions, how important, different, or challenging was this particular job? Does the official residence of a country’s president come with a particular responsibility? Yes, it certainly does, but then again, working in monumental historic interiors always comes with that responsibility. They really raise the bar, as there is often a lot of formal and

But I am an outsider here; I have my opinions, ethics and affinities of course, but I don’t have any role or say in the political discussions of this country. So, yes, this is quite a delicate position.

Also, in my work in general, I do not see it as my role to make judgments or statements about the history of any of the houses I work in. It is tempting sometimes though,

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for instance with houses that came into being through the often violent accumulation of colonial fortune. I bring those histories to the surface, yes, yet I don’t think it is, let’s say, ‘healthy’ for the house if I were to add any judgemental labels or political statements to that.

Were you given carte blanche on the subjects and colour schemes of these paintings? As I was making a first and second inventory of possible ways to compose the ensemble of wall panels, I e-mailed a presentation of sketches to the architect office in Malta. Only one day later, they replied it had already been shown to Her Excellency. As it turned out, at that point, she was already liking my approach, and so was Heritage Malta, so much so that, from there, the road turned out to be fairly easy.

A certain amount of ‘trust’ had rooted from that moment on. That mutual trust is what I’m usually aiming at, but to gain it that quickly working from Amsterdam, after one or two visits to the palace, was definitely special…

Colour schemes, however, particularly the colours of the panels and woodwork in the room, were pretty much set beforehand in close cooperation with the designers of the whole renovation project, as they are an integral part of the bigger scheme of the rooms.

The end result is an array of plants and animals deeply rooted in Maltese soil. How hard is it to enter a foreign country and immediately understand what symbolises it, apart from the obvious clichés? What does it take to build this understanding? How much time, in fact, did you spend in Malta and what sort of research did you carry out? Immediate understanding would be impossible and an illusion, I’d say. Also, my altogether three months of staying in Malta were only a beginning. Having said that, everything I did in Malta was part of that research… from drawing plants and watching birds during a day’s walk over the cliffs around Dingli, as much as having dinner with the architects; long e-mail exchanges with a well-informed Maltese botanist, as much as having a beer with one of the palace’s soldiers after duty.

Having gotten to know Malta, would you have imagined anything other than ‘botanical’ as the subject for the Grand Salon paintings? That would be hard to say, I guess, in the first place because the botanical theme of the room was more or less set as the original point of departure. It is a consequence of the way the room is positioned in the palace’s wing, visually connecting the gardens on either side of it. Besides that, botany and zoological biology are in a way my language, as I often, if not always, translate historical and architectural subject matter using that kind of imagery.

How much did the gardens of the palace itself inspire you? The lovely gardens around San Anton did help a lot, but not so much in a botanical way. During my visits for research and installation, I had the privilege of being invited to stay as a guest at the palace. Of course, it was very convenient to be staying so close

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to the work. But in the first place, it allowed me to get a really good, almost intimate, feeling of the ancient atmosphere of this place.

This almost 400-year-old gem was originally built as a country retreat to escape the summer heat of Valletta and the urban buzz in general. Although that buzz today has grown closer to the palace’s walls than ever before, thanks to its surrounding gardens, some of the original atmosphere seems to be retained. There has been a wide variety of ways to get in touch with aspects of this country, but to really get in contact with this quiet, historic side of it, still present in a place like San Anton, was quite a unique experience. Apart from that, the daily contacts with the soldiers, household and technical staff of the palace have all been an honour and a real pleasure.

How important is it to have an intimate knowledge of natural life [and your biology background] when attempting to paint it and even choose what to paint?

Is it as important as being able to draw? In my case, I think it is, but of course, I can hardly imagine a ‘me’ without at least some of this intimate knowledge.

I do know that when I paint flora and fauna, my paint behaves differently, more fluently, than when I

BOTANY AND ZOOLOGICAL BIOLOGY ARE IN A WAY MY LANGUAGE, AS I OFTEN, IF NOT ALWAYS, TRANSLATE HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL SUBJECT MATTER USING THAT KIND OF IMAGERY attempt to paint humans or objects, and believe me, at art school we had to. I think it’s a matter of language; certain vocabularies just fit you better than others.

Apart from that, I do know that a bit of a broader overview in the fields of history, biology and art combined enables me to make quick cross connections, and that’s a game I really feel at home in…

Did you seek expert advice or just base it on your personal exploration and discoveries? Both actually. I contacted some very well-informed people in this field, who were all very forthcoming. They helped me get a deeper understanding of what the Maltese landscape is about and gave me much more insight into its myriad ecological problems.

The selection of depicted species in the end, however, came about through what I found on my cycling trips around the islands. Although many people strongly advised against it, I rented a mountain bike every time I was here [usually stored under the close watchful eyes of the palace’s soldiers, pretty much alongside the President’s SUV]. Please don’t listen too

much to anybody telling you otherwise; I’d say cycling is actually pretty good here, and it brought me much closer to the Maltese landscape…

There was yet another aspect of the project I really couldn’t have done without the help of these Maltese experts. I liked the idea of having all the depicted species mentioned on gilded wooden information plates modelled after the ones used underneath most historic portraits in Malta’s palaces. All animals and plants are now named from left to right in Maltese, Latin and English. Finding the exact [where possible] Maltese names, however, turned out to be quite hard in some cases. Eventually, we got there.

What image did you create of Malta in your head?

And how is this translated into the Grand Salon? I had visited Malta earlier… So when I first arrived for this project, based on those experiences, my ideas were already driven by the island’s history of deforestation, its building boom, water problems and the process of desertification, which have all been reshaping the landscape with increasing

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speed. I knew I had to make that shift into a broader and deeper view, immersing myself into the landscape, for instance, by days and days of cycling around the island.

What stood out as you worked on understanding the Maltese Islands, the landscape, their flora and fauna? That I had to slow down and visit the countryside at different times of the year… The oceans of flowering herbs in early spring were a revelation as opposed to what I had seen earlier; as were the bright green stems and intricate pink-based leaves of the giant fennel [ferla] in March, which I had only known from their dry flower heads as dark iconic silhouettes in the landscape during summer. I recall having spent the best part of an afternoon gazing at the cautious movements of a chameleon in an orchard somewhere around Birżebbuga.

The fig cactus, for example, would appear to be a national icon, and yet it is an invasive species. How did you resolve the dilemma of what to include and why in this important room? The fig cactus is a good example, indeed. The first time I came face to face with one, I simply couldn’t resist its beauty. In Qrendi, I saw some magnificent examples too, cascading from the walls of Il-Maqluba. And I think it was somewhere around Miżieb

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on the valley road to Mellieħa where I noticed one with a large Maltese cross boldly cut into the rough bark of one of its lower segments. It was like a heart and some initials cut in a tree, but also like a scar.

I was aware that it had recently been declared an invasive species, ironically, as you say, as it could very well be one of Malta’s national icons. And to add another detail to the irony, how about being declared an alien or illegal immigrant after doing centuries of service as a basic means of fencing property.

I had originally intended to use only native or even endemic species in my paintings; plants and animals that are only found on these islands. I dropped this idea not so much because of its environmentalist message [most endemic species are threatened], but because it seemed to resonate something of today’s fast-growing popularity of isolationist sentiments. Once I immersed myself in the landscape, I realised I just couldn’t ignore something as obvious as this omnipresent Mexican cactus… in much the same way that the agave wriggled its way into the palace’s paintings.

The original plan was not entirely overthrown though. I balanced it. These two invasive plants have now taken up permanent residency on either side of the salon’s fireplace, paired with animals that are

symbolic in other ways – turtledoves and a peregrine falcon, and even a pair of Malta’s endemic wall lizards.

Where does the traditional lace come into the botanical aspect of the work? Exactly there… in what we just discussed. Lace is as intricate web of connecting lines. I described it at some point during the inauguration this way: “All plants and animals depicted in the room are connected in one way or another; connected by ecological relations, as they live ‘on’, ‘from’, or ‘with’ each other. They are also connected by stories, by history, or simply because they share the limited space of these islands together, with each other and with us.

Together, we make up ‘the Lace of Malta’, or, as the Maltese title of the work reflects, Bizzilla ta’ Malta.

But that is lace as it is used as a symbol in the title of the work. There is also its formal presence in the room. Lace had originally been part of a plan for one of the other rooms during the first talks some years earlier.

Later, these plans were changed, and I was asked to do the Grand Salon. At that point, however, the lace had already stuck in my mind. I come from a family of costume makers; almost everybody on one side of my family has a very close affinity with fabrics, tailoring and textile, and so have I. Besides that, I always include

some sort of grand linear structures in my work and the lace would provide just that.

I used it differently, however; lace handkerchiefs were transformed into cartouches around the panel paintings on the ceiling, with small floral details taken from the lace’s design added below, as a sprinkling cascade of flowers and leaves. A superimposed ground of bobbing lace stitches was added to the ceiling as a diagonal grid structure, which brings to mind the lattice work of a botanical conservatory.

Visiting the palace some weeks after having made these decisions, I noticed builders on site chiseling away at some loose plasterwork in the corridor leading up to the Salon. In some of the holes they had made, I could clearly see the remains of old paintwork showing fragments of the brightly coloured diagonal grid of what once, in the distant past, must have been a faux painted treillage gallery.

I really love it when things like that turn up; it usually tells me I’m on the right track.

And you even managed to get the symbolic Maltese cross into the picture… Tell us how. One evening, just before nightfall, I was walking along the belvedere overlooking the palace’s gardens when a heavy insect passed me by. With that size, sound and distinct silhouette, at

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IF WALLS COULD TALK

that time of day, it could only be a hawk moth [baħrija], one of my favourite insects since childhood. This was one of those ‘meetings’ that in the end defined my work for the Grand Salon. In this case, I decided to put this endemic Maltese insect in one of the four lace cartouches on the domed ceiling. In the other three, I experimented for a while with other sky- and tree-dwelling animals before I decided to add the three closely related Mediterranean hawk moth species, all attracted by the light of the ceiling’s antique Murano Glass chandelier. All four moths are stunningly beautiful, and all are found on, or regularly visit, these islands.

Recent DNA research has shown that Malta’s endemic is a hybrid between the other moth species depicted here, one from North Africa and one from Southern Europe. I didn’t know this when I painted them, but I really like the idea that it, in a way, reflects the mixed language history and culture of this country. A mix, yes, but with its own very distinct identity.

And then it got even better when I saw that the combined outline of all four moths subtly echoed the shape of a Maltese cross. A loose gathering of different species now defines the ceiling, adding another perspective to one of this country’s most cherished symbols.

Is there a particular animal or plant you painted that you are attached to and why? The affinity with the hawk moths already existed, but some others came into view

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during this project. Capers [kappar] are one example, with their spectacular one-day flowers, of course, and their strong lilac colours, almost airy, hovering around the tips of the stamens. I’ve grown to like the use of more capers in the kitchen too, by the way.

Another plus about capers is that they tend to grow from walls and so this gave me the opportunity to have a plant entering the painting from the centre, as opposed to the other paintings where stems and leaves enter from the bottom or the sides of the panel.

Two iridescent carpenter bees [bomblu iswed] have been added to this panel. One of these I saw hovering around the caper bushes during an evening walk in the woodlands around Verdala in the company of a Maltese biologist. The first one I saw, sounding like a small propeller airplane, had caused panic on a Sunday evening terrace I visited a month earlier in Balzan. Strikingly beautiful and completely harmless, just by their sound, these insects can leave a pretty strong impression.

When you carry out such commissions, are you influenced by surrounding situations – in the case of Malta, overdevelopment, the wanton destruction of the natural environment, the ruthless chopping of trees? Do these matters concern you? Yes, my work is by nature a reflection of the relation of a place with its history and its surrounding situations.

And in this case too, how could it not? Because of its limited size, Malta is a living illustration of the finiteness of economic growth and urban development. In some places, you can really imagine the last tree having been cut down.

And so, all sorts of ‘ways of being’ are lost; not only of ‘being a particular tree on a particular spot’, but also as ways of being Malta itself.

When I had just got home last summer, I read about the plans concerning the trees on Rabat road, and it really got to me for a couple of days…

The same goes for language. I was brought up in a coastal village, where half the population switched to speaking German during summer for the comfort of tourists. So, I always had some ambivalent feelings there. But in Malta, I could really see that when Maltese people switch from speaking English into a conversation in Maltese, they also seem to switch to another way of being and thinking.

In the beginning of the project, I heard a discussion about the pros and cons of Maltese being one of the official languages of the EU. I have grown into a very strong supporter of this. If we lose this, we lose a part of European thinking and being. But the same thing goes for Malta itself and for the way it treats its own landscape.

All of the encounters I had on Malta left their traces, but seeing these sea urchins at once alive and encapsulated in the rock, just a few minutes outside this heavily urbanised area, left me with an overwhelming feeling of continuity. It later led me to develop a paint made with pulverised Maltese limestone, which I subsequently used as background colour for these paintings. ‘Meetings on Malta’ was the project’s working title for a while during the process, and in a way, it still is.

Do you often work with particular elements that have a deeper connection and how hard is it to create your own paint concoctions? Making paint from what are usually called earth pigments – very fine soil, with its own natural colour, mixed with any kind of binding material – is a basic procedure as old as cave paintings.

As for the concoction of all the ingredients in the room, the connections between the imagery on the paintings, the linear structures of the lace used as ornaments, the use of different languages on the plates beneath the paintings, and so on… and then all the new connections and stories emerging from there… this is hard… But I seem to be getting a little better at it every year. Actually, for me, it might even be the most inspiring aspect of what I do.

WHEN I HAD JUST GOT HOME LAST SUMMER, I READ ABOUT THE PLANS CONCERNING THE TREES ON RABAT ROAD, AND IT REALLY GOT TO ME FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS… This is also one of the main reasons why I wanted to add the information plates to the paintings and why the names have been written in this particular order.

By the way, all these details we are discussing here are not the subject of the work, so I don’t expect people to consciously notice them. They are, however, part of the internal anatomy of it all; its intensity, just as much as its colour, or the quality of the brushstrokes.

Do you feel that your panels have an eco-friendly message that is so important in today’s Malta? I see them, in a way, as portraits of the ‘other’ residents of Malta. If you will, according to their size, as State portraits; portraits of non-human, but equally rightful heirs to this country – any country for that matter.

I do not intend this as a political statement; it’s just a logical observation, which does have some far-reaching ethical consequences though. And from that, you could probably draw the conclusion that, in today’s world, the simple act of painting an animal or a plant has by definition become a political act.

During the course of the project, do you recall any anecdotes that affected, influenced and inspired you along the way? In a way, you could say that the whole project came together as a reflection of experiences along the way.

One particular event even provided me with the very basis of the work. One evening, I was walking over the rocky boulders along the coast between Paceville and Pembroke.

When I looked into the quiet waters, I saw sea urchins slowly crawling along the bottom. Then I turned around and noticed the same animals in the limestone rocks all around me, frozen in time, fossilised millions of years ago.

What would you say about your painting technique and style and the overall look and feel? It’s a subtle presence. These walls are so high – almost six metres – that paintings with more contrast would have blown you out of the room. I really like the soft warm colour effect of the limestone paint. But the most striking part for me is the proportion of it all… These plants have been superimposed in different percentages. The bajtar cactus is just a little over life-size, while the spiralling leaves of Malta’s miniature irises have been enlarged a hundredfold, bringing to mind the complex curls of the rococo. The result is that all sense of proportion in the room seems to be lost.

When shooting these pictures, the photographer had the hardest time trying to give an impression of how large this room actually is. I didn’t intend this effect, and at first it puzzled me. But now I really like it.

Moreover, visiting Heads of State have been planting a tree in the San Anton Gardens to commemorate their stay at the palace for at least a century. Installing these paintings of smaller and larger herbs on the scale of the trees Malta so urgently lacks, somehow felt like doing something similar.

Did you actually paint on site? The six, wall-sized, 3.6-metre-high paintings and the panels for the 70-squaremetre ceiling were all done in the Amsterdam studio in a process that saw the space painted in some of the basic colours of San Anton Palace for a while to closely control the continuity of colour and light in the project. After completion in Amsterdam, everything was disassembled and transported to Malta by air to be installed at the palace.

But of course, after that, there are always some finishing touches to do on site, and when everything has been put

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IF WALLS COULD TALK together, some adjustments need to be made to the space itself to make it all click and work.

Were there any particular challenges; things you set out to do, which did not work exactly as you intended? One of the challenges was of course the differences in the way we tend to over-organise things in the north, and the more Mediterranean approach. A friend advised me to go with the flow… ‘You’ll experience other things that way,’ he said. I took his word for it gratefully, and it changed everything.

Apart from that, there was this idea of transferring the Maltese cross motifs of loosely gathering butterflies of the Grand Salon ceiling to the ceiling beams of the corridor in that traditional Maltese way of subtle painted ornamentation. The idea came up quite late in the process, and we all really loved it. There was just not enough time left to get it executed before the official inauguration of the rooms.

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What about the room itself, the Grand Salon? What can you say about it before your intervention and how its layout may have inspired you? How would you describe the Grand Salon after your touch and how does it compare to, fit in and sit with the rest of the rooms and décor of the presidential palace?

Being positioned in the palace’s wing in a special way, with windows on two sides, it seems to visually connect the gardens on either side of it.

We have tried to enhance and underline that.

Through the colour scheme and the textile, almost tent-like appearance of its domed ceiling, the room now has become a breathing space, where fresh air appears to flow freely in and out. This as opposed to most of the other rooms, which have a much more ‘interior’ quality and atmosphere.

One of the last days I was there, just after the inauguration, this happened: Two of the garden’s peafowl had flown up to the belvedere, taken a stroll over the gallery, and then cautiously stepped inside through the open doors of the Grand Salon. They stayed for almost 10 minutes.

I decided to take it as a compliment…

Your paintings will become a part of Maltese history and will be studied just as we look at frescoes from the past in other historical places? How do you want to be remembered and considered by future generations? What would they learn about Malta and art in 2018 from your work? I don’t know about the future.

I just hope that when Maltese people walk into the room today, they get the feeling it touches something fundamentally Maltese, something of this soil… that they recognise something they didn’t know consciously before. At least that is what this project has done for me…

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FANTASTIC FLOORING With laminate flooring of superior quality from Kronoswiss, you can have your very own piece of Switzerland at home. And as a result, you will also get to enjoy Swiss precision, reliability, sustainability and innovation. This flooring is exclusively available from Bathroom Design, Naxxar Road, Birkirkara.

BOILING WATER AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Imagine not having to wait for the kettle to boil every time you would like to have some coffee, or not waiting to cook your pasta. Sounds too good to be true? Well, it isn’t! Bridgepoint has just launched for the first time in Malta the instant boiling water tap for both residential and commercial uses. This incorporates both hot and cold tap water from the right-hand side of the mixer and a childsafe left handle made out of the highest level of brass to open the boiling water tap. The body is round and sleek, with a high U-shaped spout that makes it ideal for washing big and fragile items. The spout also rotates a full 180 degrees to allow maximum comfort.

When dealing with boiling water, safety and proper use are a priority, and so, Bridgepoint is also introducing a pressure-less boiler as an integral part of this product, which is even more environment friendly than your everyday kettle. The only prerequisite to install the system is to have a readily available power supply to connect the boiler.

Experience the incredible tap system at the showroom in Psaila Street, Santa Venera, and prebook for installations to happen from March onwards. As an introductory offer, Bridgepoint is offering the system, which includes the special kitchen tap, the boiler tank, the reverse osmosis, a five-stage reverse osmosis system complete with the pure water tap, a one-year maintenance agreement and installation of all items for just €990 down from €1,276.

PLACES PROMO

THE BED OF YOUR DREAMS ARRIVES IN MALTA It may be the chosen one by the Swedish royal family, but you don’t need to be have blue blood to invest in a Hästens bed that frees you from the shackles of fatigue…

HÄSTENS, the bespoke bed that takes four tradesmen more than 350 hours to handcraft, has arrived in Malta with the promise to provide the best rest you can only dream of.

Form, the local company renowned for its own luxurious mattresses, has just opened a dedicated showroom for Hästens in Valley Road, Birkirkara, selling beds famed for their horsetail hair stuffing, blue and white check pattern, and six-figure price tags.

Hästens country manager Domenico Capobianco said the allure behind opening in Malta was that the island had, more and more, become an interesting market for all the prestigious furniture brands and Hästens had been missing.

Known as the Ferraris of the mattress world, Hästens is the chosen brand by the Swedish royal family and it recently made waves after it emerged that the world’s largest luxury cruise ship suite – the Regent Suite on the Seven Seas Splendor – will feature Hästens’ most luxurious Vividus bed that costs €145,000.

But you don’t need to be a millionaire to invest in a bed that frees you from the shackles of fatigue, and the starting price for a Hästens bed is €4,000. When you

think that this will last you for the rest of your life, it amounts to the cost of an espresso a day.

The advantage is that although the bed comes with a 25-year guarantee, nobody really knows how long a Hästens bed can last and the company has even stumbled upon one which has been used for over 90 years.

The Swedish bedmaker, which has been perfecting its craft since 1852, gives the assurance that its beds can change three-thirds of your life: the one-third when you are sleeping; and the two-thirds when you are feeling refreshed and awake from a good night’s sleep.

Form, which has been supplying quality mattresses and beds since its inception in 1947, felt bringing Hästens to Malta was taking their legacy to another level.

Form sales manager Julian Galea said: “Once we were properly introduced to the Hästens world, we were totally transformed. At Form, we have always maintained that a good mattress is one that provides proper body alignment, combined with comfort and other benefits related to health and hygiene. Hästens delivers all this and much more.”

The finest natural materials are used, creating layers of organic components. There’s cotton [for

IT RECENTLY MADE WAVES AFTER IT EMERGED THAT THE WORLD’S LARGEST LUXURY CRUISE SHIP SUITE – THE REGENT SUITE ON THE SEVEN SEAS SPLENDOR – WILL FEATURE HÄSTENS’ MOST LUXURIOUS VIVIDUS BED THAT COSTS €145,000 Their philosophy is a simple and undisputed one: a good night’s sleep is the human body’s way of selfrejuvenating, mentally and physically.

Without the ability to properly and thoroughly reset night after night, both the mind and the body will suffer.

According to Mr Capobianco, the only key that unlocked the bank vault was the conviction that a Hästens bed was a one-off investment to capture the overall benefits that come from a perfect night’s sleep.

coolness and ventilation], wool [with its natural insulation properties] and flax [diverting static electricity], as well as thousands upon thousands of fine, curly [and disinfected] strands of horsehair, which behave like tiny springs to fend off moisture and assist in ventilation.

“It is amazing that in 2019 you can still find a global brand in a highly developed country which does it all by hand with no rush to speed up production. Each bed only leaves once it is perfect,” Mr Galea said.

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DO IT YOURSELF: DO/DON’T

is to get the most out of the money you spend – and that often means thinking long term. Cheaper options will entice you on price point, but there’s a lot more to an internal door, especially when you consider that this is not something that you’ll be replacing often [if at all]. The pricing of interior doors varies according to the material selected and its construction quality. Durable doors constructed with future use and environment in mind will save you money in the long run.

Taking note of all the factors that go into buying internal doors is the best starting point until you find the perfect balance between price and quality.

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A MAN’S HOME IS HIS CASTLE

Open up and let in the nine factors to consider when choosing interior doors for your home to ease the decision-making process and shut out future problems.

YOUR HOME is your castle, the saying goes, and its meaning remains as relevant today as when it was first used. Having your own home is a very significant rung on the ladder of life, and once you’ve started scaling that ladder, you try and give it your all.

Doing up a house, be it starting from a blank canvas or a renovation, is an exciting – albeit somewhat stressful and often costly – undertaking.

However, if tackled the right way, with money being spent wisely and on the right items to start off with, your home project could be one of your most satisfying achievements.

People tend to think a lot about the final look of the house, often dedicating much time and energy to soft furnishings. However, these items are mobile and often easily replaceable.

Doors, on the other hand, are equally responsible for the end result of the house and, furthermore, they last for years – often for the duration of your time spent living in the house.

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Environment and use

Different rooms require different doors, and it’s crucial that doors are chosen to be suitable for the intended environment. For example, a rustic farmhouse and a luxury penthouse would have different door requirements, so these must be tailored according to their environment to maintain their durability. Understanding the impact of Malta’s humidity on internal doors, as well as the bespoke specifications for different rooms, for example bathroom doors, will help you choose wisely.

With this in mind, it’s very important to consider the following points when deciding on the inside doors to buy.

1

When should I start thinking about interior doors?

The simple answer to that is: immediately. The size and configuration of your internal doors must be taken into consideration when the architectural plans are drawn up. At this stage, you will determine which way the door will open, ensuring that you leave ample space for opening and closing without hitting walls, or potential furniture pieces. For a complete and stylish look, once you’re going over the interior design of the property, factor in what you want your doors to look like.

2

Budgeting

Internal doors will not be the cheapest purchase of your new home, and they shouldn’t be. The important point here

4

Privacy and noise control

Privacy and noise control are the main reasons why we need internal doors, so choosing the adequate door material is extremely important. Nevertheless, these factors are also affected by how well the door has been fitted and the selection of frame and closing mechanism. Therefore, if you have very specific requirements, such as complete silence in the nursery, you would do well to invest in a soft-closing door only for that room, which makes stealthily leaving the room easier.

5

Space – frameless doors or sliding?

No room is too large or too small if planned well, and the interior door should be suitable and practical for the available space. If space is limited, then sliding doors are a great option.

Should the design of your house require invisible doors, those are also available. Frameless doors are a popular option for contemporary houses; they’re made with an invisible frame and require a shadow gap. With this kind of style, the door becomes one with the very construction of the house and holds its own wow factor.

If you do require something very specific, you will need to plan with your architect in the design stage.

6

Size

Although doors are ultimately functional, they can be used to make a statement. With traditional homes in Malta having higher ceilings, you could opt for a statement oversized door that plays beautifully with your home’s overall height. If the rooms are very large, you might consider having large apertures and the doors will follow suit to add an element of grandeur to the place.

7

Material – when to go for hollow or solid interior doors?

This is the million-dollar question.

Nowadays, most doors are made from

engineered components such as medium-density fibreboard, particleboard, or laminated timber.

These constructed components offer a better performance when compared to solid natural timber, plus they are more environment-friendly and hence sustainable. Hollow and solid doors are constructed differently, hence the difference in price. A hollow door is made of two skins, with an air space within its core. When compared to solid doors, hollow ones are lighter in weight but less robust thus being less effective in providing sound and thermal insulation. Solid doors can be made of either an engineered timber core or standard wood. Standard wood may change shape or size, depending on the environment it is in, so engineered timber core is a preferred option.

8

Colour and style

Choosing a colour palette that is stylish and functional can be quite a headache because the truth is that there isn’t a best colour for interior doors. Doors serve as a decorative statement in their own right. Choosing a colour that blends or stands out will affect a room’s and your home’s overall look. A bold door that stands out from the rest of the wall can divide a room, making it look smaller. A door that blends in with the rest of the wall

– with a trim identical to the walls – will make a space look more visually consistent. If you’re after a minimalist look, consider the following palette: white, black, pale grey, or tan. If you want something bolder, choose a bright colour that promotes a vibrant and modern look; while shabby chic works with pastel hues. If you have a dark room or corridor with no artificial light, consider a door with glazed panels that will allow light to filter through. Don’t forget about cleaning and upkeep – paint with a hint of sheen is much easier to clean. And if you’re going for a veneer, choose one with a great quality – you’ll be thankful later.

9

Interior door hardware

The hardware you choose completes your door’s look as well as its functionality. Apart from the choice of wood mentioned previously, the hinges and handles are also affected by the environment and usage of the door, so these must be selected with the following factors in mind.

This article is brought to you by Adore More Ltd, exclusive importers of San Rafael doors in Malta. You can view a selection of internal and external doors at their showroom at Triq id-Difiża Ċivili, Mosta. To contact Adore More, call on 2145 6560/2145 6570, send an e-mail to sales@adoremore.eu, or visit adoremore.com.mt for more information.

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TRENDS

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MODERN AND TRADITIONAL Emma Mercieca Cristiano from Brands International Ltd highlights what makes a transitional kitchen – a fusion of the best of old-world craftsmanship and new-world functionality – and the elements to keep in mind when adopting this style.

Mixing traditional with modern elements, such as a blackboard front on the hood.

KITCHENS have become a hub and many houses feature open-plan layouts, so it goes without saying that kitchen living is nowadays central to all home design. Moreover, trends are continuously evolving, and a recent shift in kitchen styles can be noticed.

The transitional style is quickly becoming one of the most popular. As the name implies, the style embodies a good balance

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between the modern and traditional. It is a fusion of the best of old-world craftsmanship and new-world functionality, influenced by materials of the past and modernised for contemporary life.

The result of this careful and deliberate mix is a timeless elegance in a functional modern kitchen; a room that is at once warmly familiar and profoundly fresh.

Transitional styles Some transitional styles lean more towards the rustic, farmhouse feel. However, what makes these kitchens stand out from the typically traditional styles is the unexpected hint of magic that happens when introducing more modern – even industrial – elements, such as mixed metals in predominant spots, including blackboard fronts, or glass

TRENDS

Coloured cabinetry in blues and pastels looks great in a transitional kitchen.

cabinetry. Another particularly strong element that makes a transitional kitchen different from a more traditional one is having a mix of door profiles. An example would be combining the more traditional Shaker-style thicker door profile with thinner and more modern ones.

Transitional styles can also be subtler and can, perhaps, be described as more elegant and verging on the contemporary.

This kind of style works beautifully in homes characterised by simple, timeless design, but with unexpected, small detailing throughout.

Gray cabinetry in combination with oak and glass gives a calm, elegant look.

Elements of a transitional kitchen The Shaker-style door with a thicker frame is placed next to a white door with a much slimmer profile, creating a unique and beautiful transitional style.

• Coloured cabinetry. Some might argue that a white kitchen is timeless and looks cleaner and brighter. However, having coloured cabinetry can also make the kitchen space stand out. Greys and blues [particularly pastel shades] are popular choices and work well with marble countertops, bronze, or brass taps and other hardware, as well as stainless steel appliances.

Grey also looks updated and current when mixed with oak and adds an element of calm sophistication.

• Shaker-style doors [characterised by a flat centre panel and raised square frame] combined with slimmer door profiles work beautifully in transitional kitchens.

Charcoal grey cabinetry in a flat, slim profile, combined with marble countertops and splashbacks, creates a nice contrast and helps achieve a sleek transitional look.

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TRENDS

A stunning example of a mixture of door styles on the front and side of the island, with the glass cabinetry and the black metal suspended rack giving off a modern, almost industrial, twist.

• Open or glass shelving. This type of shelving makes a kitchen look bigger and brighter and is great if you have items you wish to display openly. Open cabinetry also works beautifully to display fresh herbs and plants and helps bring the outside in. However, it’s always a good idea to plan open and glass shelves in combination with enough closed cabinetry to hide away appliances and other knick-knacks or utensils that can clutter a kitchen.

• A trend towards wellness. A lot of time is spent in the kitchen, so achieving a sense of wellness

A combination of open and closed cabinetry, combined with wooden flooring and panelling, achieves a warm, balanced look that is updated and not too traditional.

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Open shelving looks great when housing fresh herbs and plants.

THE TRANSITIONAL-STYLE KITCHEN AIMS TO TICK ALL THESE BOXES AT A TIME WHEN WE TAKE COMFORT IN THE SIMPLICITY AND TRADITIONS OF THE PAST, BUT ALSO ENJOY MODERN-DAY TECHNOLOGIES

in this area makes perfect sense.

If your kitchen allows it, it is always a good idea to have large windows and doors to allow plenty of natural light in. Fitting your kitchen with natural materials such as wooden flooring, wooden accents, plants and herbs makes the space homely and healthy.

When creating your kitchen, the most important thing to keep in mind is to make it personal and to fit it with all the things that make you happy. The transitional-style kitchen aims to tick all these boxes at a time when we take comfort in the simplicity and traditions of the past, but also enjoy modern-day technologies. It is the perfect balance between playfulness and formality, old-world charm and modern-day functionality.

FOR ASSISTANCE IN CREATING YOUR OWN TRANSITIONAL KITCHEN, VISIT ASTER CUCINE AT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL LTD., SAN GWANN. WWW.BRANDS.COM.MT

TIPS

THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR COLOUR Light is also about colour and temperature, says Petra Cutajar from Light Design Solutions.

WE NEED to incorporate light into our spaces, and to do this, we also need to understand how it works. Knowing what light is, how it interacts with the surfaces of our environment and how it affects our use of it empowers us to make good decisions and avoid the mishaps of misapplied light.

Light is a member of the radiation family. It is all around us; X-rays, microwaves, radio transmission and even heat are all forms of radiation. Light is just a name we have given to these varieties of radiation that we are able to detect with our eyes.

Radiation that reaches the earth interacts with the surfaces around us in three ways: it can be reflected or bounced off a surface; it can be absorbed by it; or it can transmit or pass through it.

1,900K

2,200K

Candle

High-pressure sodium lamp

2,7003,000K

4,0004,500K

Warm white halogen incandescent

Natural white metal halide

Like all colour experiences, even white or neutral is relatively subjective and may be experienced in slightly different ways.

Every light source has two unique properties: colour rendering index [CRI] and colour temperature [Kelvin]. CRI ranges from zero to 100 and, as a rule, sources with higher CRIs – 80 to100 – make subjects look more natural than sources with lower CRIs. The terms for colour temperature are that different

4,800K Direct sun

5,0006,000K

7,0007,500K

Day white

Cool white

10,000K Blue sky

light sources produce different coloured light. For example, a candle emits a reddish light, while the midday sun’s rays have a blue tint. These different colours can be expressed using a number known as the colour temperature, which is measured on the Kelvin scale.

There are different shades of white: warm white generally means a yellowish hue, which is usually in the range of 3,000K – the most common colour temperature used – to 4,000K. Cool white means a blueish kind of white.

For interior lighting in homes, we have grown accustomed to incandescent and halogen lighting and are comfortable with the warm colours they produce. The colour temperature usually used for our homes is 3,000K. In more industrial settings and for higher intensity, it is 4,000K. Nowadays, we use LEDs, which are available in various colour temperatures.

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PROJECT PEOPLE

PHOTOS: MARK ZAMMIT CORDINA

LIFE IN MINIATURE

For miniaturist and doll’s house builder Rebecca Micallef, history, fantasy and everyday life come together to create a make-believe world. Here, Iggy Fenech visits her workshop and exhibition space in Marsaskala – My Miniature World – to find out more about the laborious and detailed process.

DOLL’S HOUSES mean different things to people of different ages: for children, they are a playground to create their own narratives of domestic life; for adults, they are objects that turn the mediocrity of the daily grind into small-scale wonders; for older people, meanwhile, they might feel like a throwback to a time when these items were coveted by many but affordable to the very few.

For Rebecca Micallef, however, doll’s houses allow her to escape reality, channel her perfectionist streak, and unleash her creativity. Indeed, as you walk through the corridors of the purposely refurbished space in Marsaskala – which has since been transformed into an art-gallery-cum-museumcum-workshop – it quickly becomes clear that building and decorating doll’s houses

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from scratch for the past 22 years has turned Rebecca into a master of her craft.

At My Miniature World, which opened last August, Rebecca’s life work lines the walls, with various scenes unfolding with each step you take: a middle-class Victorian townhouse sits next to a Tudor cot [a small, simple cottage]; a fairy world is just a few metres away from an ultra-modern house; while Santa’s workshop is placed not very far from a miniature art gallery, a miniature boutique, and a miniature pub and inn.

“The process begins by researching the time period the doll’s house or scene is set in, as well as the lives of the people who would have lived in or used the space,” says Rebecca, who was gifted her first doll’s house at the tender age of four. “In fact, before I even

Rebecca Micallef goes down memory lane.

THE TUDOR BEDS AREN’T JUST DRESSED IN LINEN SHEETS AND FUR BLANKETS AS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN BACK IN THE TIME OF KING HENRY VIII [1509-1547], BUT ARE ALSO CONSTRUCTED IN THE TRADITIONAL MANNER OF THAT ERA begin building the actual house or creating the furniture and other accessories, I start by creating the characters of the miniature dolls that will inhabit the space.”

This, as Rebecca continues to explain, gives her some parameters to help her decide what can and can’t go into these doll’s houses. When it came to the JR Art Gallery, for example, knowing the character of the artist gave her a clear vision of the type of art he would have created, thus ensuring a holistic space that feels real rather than simply put together.

The stories go further than that, however… “The Tudor cot is lived in by a widow called Kate and her

son Luke. They are quite poor, but used to have a slightly better life. This meant that they once had enough income to have a trickle bed [a large bed that includes a smaller pull-out underneath], a spinning wheel, and access to some meat,” she says as she points to the wooden beams where animal carcasses and joints are hung to be smoked by the fumes of the hearth in the middle of the two-room dwelling.

The detail Rebecca goes into is impressive. The Tudor beds aren’t just dressed in linen sheets and fur blankets as they would have been back in the time of King Henry VIII [1509-1547], but are also constructed in the traditional manner of that era:

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WORKING ON SUCH A SMALL SCALE MEANS THAT UTMOST CONCENTRATION IS VERY IMPORTANT

a wooden frame, the middle of which is lined with rope that offers support to a straw mattress.

“Authenticity is very important for a doll’s house to impart that sense of fantasy,” Rebecca says. “Even its construction is similar to reality. A blueprint comes first, and then you start building from the foundations up, creating layer upon layer – be it tile or stone flooring, wallpaper or bare walls, slate or thatched roofs.”

Talking to Rebecca about how this passion came about, she reveals that this is something she took up as soon as she started working as an assistant principal at the Marsaskala local council. In many ways, it is a hobby that allows her to unwind and focus on the task at hand.

“Working on such a small scale means that utmost concentration is very important,” she explains.

Most of the things you see in these doll’s houses and scenes-in-miniature are handmade by Rebecca herself: the structure of the house is cut from sheets of fibre-

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board, then assembled with glue; the little items made from clay, meanwhile, are moulded and then baked in an oven. Nevertheless, Rebecca has no qualms about using ready-made pieces, either.

“Certain pieces of furniture simply have to be made to measure, particularly fitted kitchens,” she explains, “and while I make sofas and many items of furniture myself from scratch, I do sometimes buy chairs and then customise them to fit the look of the house in question.

The dolls themselves are also purchased from a professional dollmaker abroad… Ultimately, though, it’s a matter of what one feels confident in and enjoys doing.”

Interestingly, this passion has also brought her closer to her family: her husband, Gilbert, renovated the space where her doll’s houses now sit; her father, Daniel, often helps her with the painting and cutting of wood; while her children, Matthias, Raquel and Leah, remind her of the joys and importance of playing with doll’s houses.

“I love the fact that doll’s houses allow my children to create their own scenarios and stories; it really pushes their imagination… But it also gives me a clearer idea of their attitude to the family.

“Watching children play with doll’s houses gives you a better understanding of their attitude towards the family dynamics they experience – after all, children reproduce what they see and what they feel. And this, as I’ve come to discover through my research on doll’s houses, is something therapists sometimes use to understand traumas children may have gone through in the past.”

The walkthrough continues to Rebecca’s workshop, where materials line the shelves and drawers. The whole space is taken over by projects that are in the pipeline – including a fabulous Regency house, which is set to be one of her most ambitious creations to date – as well as dozens upon dozens of tiny items of furniture, ceramics, books, toys and fashion accessories, which are sold on her Etsy page.

From these hundreds of items, one thing in particular catches the eye: a Halloweenthemed porcelain plate.

“I decorate each house and space for each holiday according to the traditions of the time,” she reveals. “Evergreens in the Tudor home; and a Christmas tree in the Victorian one at Christmastime; Halloween decorations in the ultra-modern one at the end of October, and so on. Although, I have to admit, I don’t do much for Halloween as I’m afraid my idea of ‘spooky’ would still turn out to be ‘cute’.”

So how much do these doll’s houses sell for? “They’re not for sale,” she answers.

“For starters, it’s almost impossible to put a price on them. The Victorian home took nine months to complete… How do you put a price on something like that?

“But, more importantly, each one of these is very personal to me and reminds me of different periods and people in my life. Take the Swordsman Pub and Inn, for example – that is a nod to my father, who is an accomplished swordsman; while Miss Leah’s Boutique is named after my daughter… I mean, I could definitely never part with them.”

And that makes each creation even more special because, for all the techniques Rebecca’s picked up through trial and error over the years, it’s her passion to create something perfectly curated for herself that makes them so uniquely evocative. The fact that we get to revel in their beauty is just a bonus.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MY MINIATURE WORLD BY VISITING THE FACEBOOK PAGE.

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THE CITY IN THE CITY

Photographer Alan Carville goes down the architectural route when he visits Valencia and is drawn to the City of Arts and Sciences to shoot it the way he sees it.

The City of Arts and Sciences: at once skeletal and almost ready to take a bite out of you.

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PHOTOGRAPHER Alan Carville may appear to be more known for his interiors shoots, but he has actually been taking architectural exterior images way before he started on the former.

“I used to travel a lot and, most of the time, photographers are either drawn to iconic landmarks, buildings and landscapes, or to the unique people and cultures of different countries. So, you end up going down the portrait/street photography route, or the static object route,” he says.

SURROUNDED BY PARKS AND GARDENS, YOU NOT ONLY GET A CHANCE TO WALK, BREATHE AND PHOTOGRAPH, BUT YOU CAN ALSO FIND AN INNER PEACE WHILE STILL BEING IN A METROPOLIS But Carville has always been drawn to architecture “because it has a much broader significance than just offering shelter. It permanently records aesthetic tastes, material resources, technological advancements, as well as political and social aspirations.

Finding an area that has been purposely built takes all of these factors into account”, he explains.

Here, he has picked Valencia, and the City of Arts and Sciences in particular, being in search of an area that was primarily peaceful, without traffic and congestion.

“The historical parts, although very beautiful, are also in the central traffic and shopping region,” he points out, adding that being “surrounded by parks and gardens, you not only get a chance to walk, breathe and photograph, but you can also find an inner peace while still being in a metropolis.”

In the case of the City of Arts and Sciences, “when you reduce an image to its simplest form, you then start to discover its graphic

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elements, such as line and shape. I see beauty in geometry – if you look at nature, such as flowers, the answers have always been there”.

A group of futuristic buildings designed by local architects, namely Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, this amazing place was built in stages, starting in 1998 at the seaward end of the old Turia river bed.

It consists of six distinct zones or buildings, including the first L’Hemisfèric, designed to look like a giant human eye; the Prince Philip Science Museum; L’Umbracle, which is a landscaped walk through native plants and various artistic and thought-provoking sculptures; L’Oceanogràfic, a small version of Sea World; El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, which is an impressive opera house and theatre; and the newest addition, L’Àgora, which is a covered exhibition space and sports arena in the shape of an ellipse.

Showing the bigger picture in colour would have made the images look touristic, he says about his choice of black and white and his personal take on this structure through his own lens, which enhances it futuristic feel.

Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, offers a great combination of city, sun and beach and plenty of cool things to do. And through Carville’s eyes, it is an excellent destination for a city break, easy to travel to, not as crowded as some other major cities, and with everything within walking distance – always with his trusted camera in hand, of course.

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CONSERVATION CORNER

FORBIDDEN ENTRY

The antiporta tells the story of our interactions; how open our houses were to them; and how weary we may have grown, writes Andrew Borg Wirth as he ponders how much this in-between door says about social behaviour, how that has changed and whether we can welcome the antiporta back into our contemporary vernacular… and our lives…

PHOTOS: DAVID ZAMMIT

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Today, even when the doors of the antiporta are open, people are in a rush to make their way to their destination; no one peers through the glass panes of this in-between door. Everyone is interested in their phone, and almost like the front doors that line the rest of our streets, everyone seems to have earphones in to ensure their own personal space is not violated.

Architecture has a curious way of explaining the way people are evolving. It’s generations like ours that are at the brink of major societal change. Positing ourselves at the

WHILE OUR HOMES USED TO BE A SHOWCASE OF A FAMILY’S FONDNESS AND FAMILIARITY, TODAY THEIR DOORS ARE LOST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENCOUNTER. THE LITTLE GAZE INTO OUR HOMES THAT AN ANTIPORTA GUARANTEED IS NOT PERMITTED TODAY. IT IS NOW SEEN AS AN INTRUSION, A HINDRANCE ALMOST I LOVED walking right up to my grandparents’ house as a child and briefly seeing myself in the reflection of the glass before I’d swing the door right open and run through the entrance hall. It’s a time I’m nostalgic for because all the doors on that street were left open, on their antiporta, welcoming guests right in.

I loved watching people approach, or simply walk past. Similarly, it would close soon after the Angelus at 12.15pm, for their siesta, and open again in time for golden hour to make a complete kinetic artwork of the patterned floor below.

Today, a doorbell or knock is answered with a ‘min hemm?’ [‘who’s that?] from behind a closed front door. Owners open cautiously to make out in a sliver of light that the face matches the voice that had answered the call.

It’s a changing dynamic, and the way it was is something we hoped to take to Venice earlier this year. The brief was to export the special space that the antiporta is and illustrate how instrumental it is within social dynamics.

Times have changed, and with them our social behaviour. I find it interesting to observe ways architecture manages to tell how

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our narratives are constantly transforming. The antiporta tells the story of our interactions; how open our houses were to them; and how weary we might have grown. I find that it illustrates our anxiety to extend public space into our homes and allow for space to be negotiated.

Ultimately, I find the rate at which they are being gutted very expressive of the lack of attachment to our inherited stories.

The ease with which contemporary builds are excluding this hung space is very telling of a society interested in its inner circles; its most intimate relations and, ultimately, our own selves.

While our homes used to be a showcase of a family’s fondness and familiarity, today their doors are lost opportunities for encounter.

The little gaze into our homes that an antiporta guaranteed is not permitted today. It is now seen as an intrusion, a hindrance almost.

My grandparents look back fondly to a time when flats were the exception and a house meant a story you would invite people to be a part of. Their relationship with the stranger changed every day. There was always someone new to nod to or briefly exchange a smile with.

observer’s point of view can expose how ready or not to enable public space we really are.

Public space surfaces where there is agency to negotiate between individuals, and this is where the political nature of architecture lies.

The interface with public space is an essential barrier that [de]activates the activity around it and, therefore, needs to be planned carefully to motivate a more organic chain of events.

Wondering how we can inherit the antiporta and include it within our contemporary vernacular is an exciting design exercise. How do we set out to do what our ancestors did, but today? How can our homes lend to this same level of activity?

How do we toy with intrigue and probe at conversation?

It’s design decisions like the antiporta that make for a society open to discussion and encounters with stories we’re not familiar with.

It’s houses like those that activate streets worth having conversations in, and it’s the craft behind the wood, the glass and the brass that hold character in each distinct antiporta.

It’s in the glare of the glass of that demi-door that our curiosity is sparked; in the low door knob that

our child’s intuition is probed; and in the hung space between the front door and the second one that our

I STILL MISS THAT LIGHT THAT WOULD PLAY SO ELEGANTLY ON THE FLOORS discomfort makes way for the pleasure of a new encounter. With doorways not worth looking into, what are the streets but just another corridor for us to get through?

I still recall old colleagues of my grandad’s from the bank knocking gently on the glass to check up on him. I still admire the calm with which he would stare for hours at parents with their children and neighbours with their dogs making their way up the street.

I have fond memories of my grandmother waiting patiently for the baker, whose distinct horn sound made its way through the antiporta’s doors; and I still miss that

light that would play so elegantly on the floors.

When we called for protection of this artefact, it was not just the physical attributes that made it so peculiar and unique, which as architects we were looking to preserve. It is all that it activated and enabled; all it implied and justified that we are interested in.

Just like the gallarija is celebrated as an essential part of our streetscape, the antiporta similarly needs to come back home.

Stories like those of his grandparents were at the heart of what a group of artists sought to share in a project called Antiporta: A Fading Negotiation, which Andrew Borg Wirth was a part of over the course of 2018. Commissioned by Chris Briffa Architects, it was a two-part installation, first exported to Venice for the Architecture Biennale, and then brought to Malta where it was exhibited at Spazju Kreattiv earlier this year. Chris Briffa was the creative director, and the team included David Zammit, Lisa Gwen, Katrina Gauci and Louise Spokes. This project was part of the Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture Cultural Programme [Valletta Design Cluster] and the Spazju Kreattiv programme, supported by the Project Support Grant, Malta Arts Fund – Arts Council Malta, and produced in collaboration with camilleriparismode and Halmann Vella.

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PHOTOS: MARK ZAMMIT CORDINA

An artist in retrospect

As Maria Rossella Dalmas celebrates her 70th birthday, Iggy Fenech catches up with her to talk about her life and career.

I MEET Maria Rossella Dalmas [affectionately called ‘Rossella’ by those who know her] at her Msida home. As she leads me through to her washroom-cumstudio, where a bright white light shines on a messy work station, my eyes are immediately drawn to a chair on which numerous landscapes are stacked.

“Some of these are destined to be sold at camilleriparismode,” she tells me as I go through them.

“You know, it’s still a challenge each time. To me, it’s like acting on stage and I often get stage fright… And each time I paint, I hope it’s going to be my best painting, but there’s no guarantee.”

A part of me can’t believe this statement. Rossella is quite the accomplished artist with an extensive list of solo and collective exhibitions under her belt. Among these are four solo exhibitions at the National Museum of Fine Arts, and the collective exhibition held at the Seminary, Tal-Virtù, and the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat about The Holy Eucharist – with her work, a

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reinterpretation of Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus [c.1598], called “a conscious reflection” by art curator Emanuel Fiorentino.

She’s also won multiple awards and competitions, including the Kreativa art competition, organised by the Malta Institute of Visual Arts, which saw her awarded a one-week workshop at Central Saint Martins in London, and the Ferrario Award – Ferrario being makers of fine art supplies – organised by the Art Academy Gallery in Mosta, to mention but a few.

Yet Rossella is an artist who always paints from the heart and, as such, whether she’s depicting urban settings, architectural compositions, or portraits, each painting is a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

“If I didn’t paint, life would be very boring and dull for me,” she explains. “When something turns out the way I want it to, I feel quite high; while, if it doesn’t, I get depressed. That’s why I paint only when I see the whole composition ready in my mind.”

WHEN SOMETHING TURNS OUT THE WAY I WANT IT TO, I FEEL QUITE HIGH; WHILE, IF IT DOESN’T, I GET DEPRESSED. THAT’S WHY I PAINT ONLY WHEN I SEE THE WHOLE COMPOSITION READY IN MY MIND

Asked how she chooses her subjects, she says it’s simply a matter of “feeling”. But, to help inspiration along, she always carries a camera to snap any scene that catches her eye, be it due to colour, or angular composition.

Once it comes to painting, Rossella begins with layering Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Orange and Dioxazine Purple acrylic to act as the base. A technique she picked up from two different books, this is what gives her work its signature moody hues.

“Indeed, I generally work according to colours: if the colour scheme is nice, then I’ll paint it. Having said that, I never paint foreign scenes as they end up looking like postcards. Who knows, maybe it’s because there’s no emotional attachment? What I’m sure of is that I’ve never been inspired by a block of flats,” she jokes.

There is an obvious reason why Rossella – a pharmacist by profession and a mother of two – uses a photo-to-painting process most of the time: while she’s always enjoyed plein-air painting, her busy schedule meant she rarely had time for her art during the day, so photography made it possible for her to do it at night.

And, it turns out, it’s something that has proven quite beneficial to Rossella’s career in the long run, particularly as she was asked to contribute to Marquis Nicholas de Piro’s landmark book The National Portrait Gallery of Malta by painting portraits of those who had passed away but should still be remembered.

“Nicholas de Piro likes the one of [comedian] Nossi Ghirlando the most,” she tells me as we flick through the book. “When I was working on Ghirlando’s portrait, I met his

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daughter-in-law, who has a photo of him from the comedy It-Tieġ ta’ Karmena Abdilla. Ghirlando was a perfectionist, and he used to ask one of his sons to help him shave and dress to be more presentable in the low-cut wedding dress he had to wear for the role.”

And so it goes as we run though most of the artworks she created for the 2015 publication, including those of Maltese World War II heroine Henrietta Chevalier, Notary Rene Frendo Randon [known as iż-Żiżu], author, antique silver expert and collector Victor Denaro, and a self-portrait.

Yet, as she tells me how they were created through faded newspaper cuttings and stained photographs, I can’t help but think that Rossella’s childhood is also somehow part of the reason why her work has such a strong connection to photography.

WHAT I’M SURE OF IS THAT I’VE NEVER BEEN INSPIRED BY A BLOCK OF FLATS See, Rossella grew up in her father’s photo studio in Ħamrun, where, in the years after the war, her aunts could be found applying transparent oil colours to sepia photos.

“The artistic gene has always run in my family,” she smiles.

“My father’s family is of J Cassar Photo Studio, and my aunts all used to go to art school and paint. In our house, there were always colours, pencils, photos…”

Today, her father’s name, the illustrious Giuseppe Cassar, remains an important one in the field of photography – among many things, he ‘photoshopped’ [by hand] the iconic and defining picture of San Ġorġ Preca, which was secretly taken by a MUSEUM member.

A book by Kevin Casha published in 2016 called Photographers in Malta lists all of his achievements in the field of photography but, as the 2016 APS publication – edited by Louis Laganà – Two Generations of Maltese Artistic Families:

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Volume Three reminded us, Rossella’s father was a successful and prominent painter too.

I think that for Rossella, painting has always been a way of remaining close to her roots and her father, whom she speaks very fondly of. In fact, she is in touch with journalist Mario Xuereb – who recently released a three-part documentary about Maltese nationals who lived in Tripoli, Libya, who were interned in camps in Italy during World War II – to find out more about her father’s time as a prisoner of war.

“He’d gone to Rome as a student of medicine,” she explains, “but he and his brother missed the last boat to Malta before the war broke out. He was asked to give up his British passport, but he declined, which further annoyed the fascists. I think they assumed he was a British spy as he ended up in various internee camps before finally being placed with an Italian family. The irony is that his family in Malta were considered pro-Italian because their children were studying in Italy, with my grandfather being considered an actual spy. In fact, his studio in Ħamrun was regularly checked by the police for microfilms and things like that.”

As the interview draws to a close, I ask Rossella if she’d do anything differently could she go back. To this she answers: “I was a pharmacist and I have a family and two children; it would be difficult to change anything.

“What I’m most happy about is that I’m self-taught, though” she continues. “I’ll never forget what it was like when I went to art lessons: my mind simply didn’t click and I was so terrified that I spent months not using pencils or brushes after that. I don’t believe inspiration comes that way.

I have to do things my way.”

And Rossella has done things her way when it comes to art. Although I wonder if, when in 1988 she took part in her earliest collective exhibition at the Trade Fair Grounds in Naxxar, she knew she’d be fashioning such an enviable career in art in just 30 years.

What seems certain though is that Rossella isn’t done at 70 – there is still a lot she has to say through her acrylics.