Charles Clews and Mahatma Gandhi now watch over a busy Fgura road as part of the local council’s street mural project, which aims to add some colour to their locality.
Large portraits of the two esteemed gentleman have been spray-painted onto a large wall at thebusy Council of Europe Square in recent weeks.
At one end of the formerly stark space, a mural is taking shape of local għana favourite Fredu Abela, better known as il-Bamboċċu.
“I remember him well,” said an elderly man on a bench nearby, who expressed approval of the sudden splashes of colour that had appeared on the formerly drab wall.
The late great men on the mural will eventually be joined by depictions of Martin Luther King, Dun Ġorġ Preca and trade unionist Reggie Miller.
What all these men have in common, besides the devotion they inspired, is they all have streets named after them in Fgura.
Mayor Byron Camilleri, just 25 years old, said the council had chosen the figures to be depicted but had left the design up to artist Justin Bonnici, who runs a tattoo shop in the town.
Mr Bonnici has been working free of charge on his public masterpiece for several weeks, sometimes working in the middle of the night so that he will not be disturbed.
“The residents are curious; they stop and ask him all sorts of questions if he is here during daytime,” Mr Camilleri laughed, as an elderly nun admired the work behind him.
“We have been pleased with the reaction from residents, they seem to like it a lot,” he added.
The fruit of Mr Bonnici’s labour, so far, is a psychedelic black and red design that includes a guitar and a tree.
Across the roundabout are paintings from the first phase of the council’s street mural project, which began last September on Car Free Day.
A band club, boy scouts, a man reading a newspaper and a variety of other recognisable everyday figures have been painted onto the white wall in acrylics by a host of other artists.
Mr Camilleri said the project aimed to brighten up unsightly walls and promote the visual arts.
“I find myself looking out for suitable walls all the time now,” he chuckled.