Rebuilding lives from the ruins

The struggle of the people of L'Aquila when they tried to rebuild their lives after the April 6 earthquake is brought out vividly in a photographic exhibition by The Times photojournalist Darrin Zammit Lupi.

He travelled to the Italian city a few days after the disaster which killed 297 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

His 48-hour experience has been translated into a 40-piece exhibition titled The Presence Of Absence, which is being held at the Old University courtyard (MITP) in Valletta as part of Evenings on Campus 2009.

The theatre space has been transformed using the few means available: the hollow wooden platforms normally used to create the tiered seating surface on which folding chairs are placed.

They have been set upright, like adjacent domino pieces lining the theatre's perimeter in a rounded/rectangular fashion, aiding the flow of images seemingly suspended upon them. The platforms also give the feeling of, and perhaps mirror, the mediaeval walled city of L'Aquila and viewers will feel the sense of containment which Mr Zammit Lupi has tried to recreate.

The idea of a recreated atmosphere has also been augmented by a photograph of three by two metres, showing random debris and rubble, which has been purposely laid out on the floor and meant to be trodden upon by visitors.

Although certain elements add an installation-like "feel" to the display, Mr Zammit Lupi said: "This exhibition is not about making a conscious statement... it is about creating an atmosphere and getting people to think a bit about the disaster".

The exhibition runs till August 6. It is open on weekdays between 5 and 8 p.m.