A great lover of the Maltese language and Maltese culture in general, I will never forget my father’s answer to a man who claimed that there was no point in him learning how to master the language, claiming it to be a poor vernacular meant only for the confines of the kitchen.

“Poor is the man who can’t speak it because he will never understand its worth,” my father replied, a statement I still carry with me like a talisman whenever I despair at the rapid erosion of a once rich and unique heritage that still adds depth to the Maltese identity.

The cat vane represents Mġarr.

It was for this reason that I was particularly intrigued by the Il-Pinnuri exhibition, which runs till today at St James Cavalier, Valletta. Born out of a collaboration between The Rubberbodies Collective and Valletta 2018, the exhibition is part of Il-Warda tar-Riħ (The Windrose), a project that is part of the Valletta 2018 Cultural Programme.

The project celebrates wind-lore in four localities around Malta and Gozo in the most whimsical way possible: through beautifully sculpted wind vanes which celebrate the very particular culture of each place they represent. With the event being four years in the making, The Rubberbodies Collective visited Sliema, Marsaxlokk, Mġarr (Malta) and Għarb in order to conduct research and interview people about the wind-lore stories which they personally felt defined their towns and villages.

Through the vivid information they collected, they were not only able to come back with folk tales worthy of a story book, but they were also able to gather their inspiration for the construction of the wind vanes themselves. The latter are fully operational and will be placed in the various locations they represent at the close of the exhibition.

The project celebrates wind-lore in four localities through beautifully-sculpted wind vanes which celebrate the very particular culture of each place they represent

The decision to put Sliema, Marsaxlokk, Mġarr (Malta) and Għarb in the spotlight was a simple one as, although each of these places is essentially different in identity, they all have a couple of things in common. All the villages, in fact, are significant compass points on the Maltese archipelago and, although the stories gathered from each localites are distinct from each other, together they form part of our collective cultural DNA.

What makes the artists’ approach so fascinating is the fact that they have allowed the pieces themselves to be moulded by the experiences of the residents without adding any of themselves to the mix, making for a visual experience which is even more profound and meaningful.

The vanes for Marsaxlokk.

By separating themselves from the narrative and operating based on what they hear rather than their own impositions, The Rubberbodies Collective serves as a catalyst for the viewer to rediscover his or her own link to a forgotten Malta which once operated based on the changing seasons and which was at the mercy of the elements.

The stories tied to each wind vane are sometimes thoughtful and at others nostalgic. But always entertaining, which further brings out how invested the four tellers of the stories are in this remarkable project.

The exhibition includes an audio-visual installation.

Whether they discuss the brightness and shape of the moon, the church bell’s notes, which were believed to ward off evil spirits, a fear of the effect of a strong wind at sea or the direction in which the cat chose to clean itself according to the prevailing wind, each wind vane gave the viewer a direct window into a past where the wind was both respected and revered for its effect on nature.

Although all four wind vanes are white in colour, this by no means takes away from the beauty or intricacy of each piece and the effect that it has on the viewer. I was greatly touched in particular by the symbolism tied to the Marsaxlokk wind vane (a vane which was sculpted to look like a giant squid) and the attached story where the narrator is quoted as saying: “The first thought that comes to my mind when I’m at home sleeping or doing something else… as soon as I hear the wind, is to run up to the roof and ask who is at sea.

And then the telephone calls start. “My daughter’s husband is a fisherman. Is Charlie out there? What are we going to do?” It was moments in the stories such as this one, together with the Mġarr-born Mario Vassallo’s detailed description of how his cats could predict the wind, which makes the exhibition such a gem.

Il-Pinnuri runs until today at St James Cavalier, Valletta.