St Paul's visit 'in photos'

Every image in an exhibition by photographer Peter Paul Barbara is a liberal interpretation of verses taken from chapters 27 and 28 of the Acts of the Apostles and illustrates the fateful voyage of St Paul to this island.

Titled Malta AD 60, it is a photographic celebration of the Pauline Year, consisting of 45 prints representing the natural and cultural landscapes of the Maltese islands.

"The idea came to mind in view of the Pauline year and, for a long time, I wanted to tie some of my work to a religious/spiritual theme. A good number of the images were taken specifically for this exhibition while others were used from stock," said Mr Barbara.

The works are not of a historical nature nor even a re-enactment of the events but an interpretation, providing a visual aspect to the text. To help the viewer interpret the visual there is a text from the passage itself.

Mr Barbara started photography at an early age. He studied reprographics and colour at Crosfield College, Watford. He was published both locally and abroad and his work was featured in the UK-published magazine People In Camera.

Apart from photography, Mr Barbara's main interest remains international and European politics. He graduated in contemporary Mediterranean studies and international relations at the University of Malta in 1996 and, in October 2000, read for a Master's in European Affairs. He practised journalism for three years and is now manager in charge of the EU projects and policy unit with Transport Malta's ITS Directorate.

The exhibition, sponsored by APS Bank and hosted by Heritage Malta, is mounted at the ground floor of the Malta Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa. It was opened by Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco and is curated by Jevon Vella.

It is open during museum hours and runs until August 8.

The second edition of the publication Elements Of Change, a photographic retrospective by Mr Barbara, is on sale during the exhibition.