Nostalgias of Malta

The launch of a book of photographs - 13th book by Judge Bonello that Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti has published - depicting Malta between the 1890s and the 1930s was not just a cultural event but also served to give vent to feelings of frustration at the "shocking" development and "so-called progress" that has ruined Malta, writes Fiona Galea Debono:

Judge Giovanni Bonello's Nostalgias Of Malta: Images by S.L. Cassar From The 1890s To The 1930s aptly stirred a strong sense of nostalgia for what Malta once was - as the title suggests.

Launched by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti at the Hotel Phoenicia last Tuesday, the book presented the opportunity for the foundation's general editor, Paul Xuereb, and artist, columnist and guest speaker Kenneth Zammit Tabona to comment strongly on the state of the country due to over-development..

"A cursory look at (Salvatore Lorenzo) Cassar's photographs would make anyone with a modicum of sensibility stop in their tracks in shock for what we have lost since his day is tragically irreplaceable," he continued. As an artist who enjoys painting en plein air, he said, choosing locations that were relatively unspoilt was sadly becoming a very difficult task. Referring to Mr Cassar's practically aerial view of Mġarr Harbour, taken from Chambray, he said "the present transformation could not be anything but a transmogrification".

Leafing through the mesmerising array of Mr Cassar's work, including Maltese landscapes and seascapes, Mr Zammit Tabona nostalgically - and angrily - noted that the "ubiquitous oil drums and defunct washing machines had not yet replaced the rubble walls".

Dr Xuereb was equally irked by the contrast between Malta then and now, indirectly highlighted in the book, referring to the "decades of terrible, so-called development, which have changed the face of the country". He described the changes that one could notice thanks to Mr Cassar's photographs as "horrible" and "quite a shock", hoping they could get through to some of the politicians.

He was not avant-garde and did not indulge in experimental, provocative and abstract photography, but Judge Bonello considers him to be one of the greatest of his time. The choice was not easy as the level of Mr Cassar's productions was "excellent" and choosing between excellent and excellent is no mean feat...