George Vella is a 24-year-old Gozitan who has a regular job, plays football and even crosses over to Malta for the occasional party. His interests seem typical enough for a man of his age - but his passion for moulding miniature, clay, Good Friday statues, sets him apart.

That passion stems from a strong devotion to St George, around which the life of the Vella family revolves. They are self-proclaimed Good Friday enthusiasts.

"I like the feast and the procession," which he has always participated in, wearing a costume as a child and carrying one of the Good Friday statues when he grew into a man.

For the past eight years, George has been dragging chains in the procession - a symbolic act, which is normally done as a vow, his mother adds, with a hint of curiosity as to what vow her son ever made and why.

George's brother Joe, who is also involved in the making of the statuettes, used to organise the procession himself and is already upset that Good Friday is "soon going to be over". But George takes a more positive approach, saying that "if it does not pass by, it will never come again!". That is the extent of their interest in all things related to Good Friday.

George's enthusiasm, however, culminates in his statues of the Passion of Christ - the fruit of a mix between religion and art, although the religious aspect plays a major role.

"St George is a big part of my life," says his brother. "In fact, he is everything. It is better if you speak badly about my mother than against St George," he exaggerates to stress the point, and his thoughts are echoed by his younger sibling.

George has always had a penchant for religious icons. At the age of seven, his mother recalls he would cut out St George from holy pictures and stick them onto cardboard to keep them upright. These simple, childhood games were the first steps towards his clay statuettes - a talent that developed with time and that George is constantly seeking to perfect.

The self-taught artist has always been "obsessed", according to his mother, and is constantly learning from mistakes.

His first statues date back to 1998, at 17, and he feels he has come a long way since then. This Easter's Good Friday statues involve several elaborate and expressive figures. One set depicts the carrying of the Cross, and George is particularly proud of his Simon of Cyrene, to whom he has added his own personal touches, as well as the centurion in his tiger-skin uniform.

The figures are based on his imagination and he aims for originality. The image of Christ on Veronica's cloth is the way George imagines it - bloody and smudged and not a clear drawing of the face.

The detail and expression on the faces of the statuettes are all the more impressive when the dimensions of the hand-moulded statues are taken into account. They are 35cm high and it is not the first time their delicate, brittle fingers break off - George painstakingly and seamlessly sticks them back on.

Some have silver decorations, which pump up the costs - although the biggest expense is in terms of time and talent, George's father interjects.

In a joint effort with his 33-year-old brother, who makes the detailed mahogany pedestals on which the statues stand, George has put up a Good Friday exhibition.

Open until Sunday, it is located in the family's shop in St Joseph Street, Victoria, which his mother emptied out to accommodate the display.

The brothers have also transformed a room in the family's home into a workshop and have been working on the statues for the past month, with three sleepless nights at the end to complete them on time.

George and his brother started putting up exhibitions in 2000, but feel their work is more professional and refined today. One of the first sets of statuettes, depicting the burial, appears quite rudimentary to their critical eye, and the skin colour is not quite as natural, according to them, so they intend to remake it from scratch next year and are already looking forward to the task.

The figures - Jesus, the apostles, Roman soldiers, angels - are dressed in papier machéz robes, adorned in gold and white gold leaf trimming and other details, including real leather for the soldiers' tunics.

One of George's statues is composed of 10 figures, and it is not the first time he is caught, striking a pose, sprawled across the floor to be sure he gets their positions right.

"Many statues have exaggerated and unnatural poses," which George tries to avoid.

Tourists and pilgrims from Malta flow in, paying George compliments on his work, which he takes in his stride, although he admits they fill him with satisfaction.

One day, he may attempt to make one of the life-size statues in the church, although he is too modest to imagine. He simply nods at the idea, eyes to the ground.