The soiled hands and squinting eyes of the Mġarrin working their fields have been caught on camera as part of a series of photos documenting life in the rural village.
Each one of the pictures, taken in autumn, tells a story of an Mġarri – from John-Mary Bezzina who often sits outside the Mġarr Snackbar chatting to his friends, to il-Ħaqqu, who mends the local fishermen’s traps.
Il-Ħaqqu, as he is known among the parishioners, is from the Gozitan Mġarr but he often travels to his second home in Mġarr, Malta. When other fishermen learn that he is at the shore, making his own traditional cane fishing baskets to catch bogue, they head down to Ġnejna so that he can fix theirs.
Mr Bezzina and Il-Ħaqqu are just two of the dozen Mġarr characters that the Times of Malta photographer Mark Zammit Cordina has photographed over the past two months in a bid “to give something back to the community”.
It brings out the aspect that Mġarr is cut off from other villages and has maintained a rural character
Originally from Ħamrun, the young photographer recently settled down in Mġarr and felt it was time to do something for the village that was hosting him.
To document everyday life in Mġarr, he accompanied villagers in their everyday environment – working their fields, tending their sheep or pigs, or just sitting down outside a local bar.
The photos are now being exhibited at the local council’s administrative building. They will remain there until the end of February, then the council is planning on exhibiting them elsewhere permanently, deputy mayor Eman Vella toldthis newspaper. “The collection is a snapshot of 2015 life in Mġarr. The display is different from other photo exhibits as the collection is a reflection on our life as Mġarrin.
“It brings out the aspect that Mġarr is cut off from other villages and has maintained a rural character,” he said. The photos are on display at 22, Sir Harry Luke Street, Mġarr on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 8am and noon and 1pm and 3pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8am and noon and 1pm and 4.45pm.