Gozitanos

An exhibition of watercolour works by Paul Caruana is being held at Palazzo de Piro in Mdina.

In this exposition titled Ħrejjef ta’ Veru/Telltales, Caruana comes up with a pocketful of scenes painted from everyday life which are fast disappearing from people’s collective memory.

A particular horse and carriage scene reminded Caruana of the saying ‘Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage’.

“Composing this watercolour, a thought kept recurring in my head: ‘Who is the horse that pulls the carriage in a marriage?’,” said Caruana.

The Effect

“Of course, there’s no one good answer to this question. It all depends on how things work out with each and everyone of us.”

The artist digs deep into his treasure chest of memories and comes up with reminensces of his childhood in St Joseph Street, Valletta, which used to heave with large families.

He also ventures into Rabat and Mdina where his elder relatives resided. There’s a portrait of the itinerant Grandad Bufula selling fish along the streets of Rabat and a culinary mirage when the artist recalls the mouth-watering sfineġ – cod fingers cooked in batter – his mother used to treat him to after a laborious trip by bus to Mdina. Other episodes take visitors back some 50 years.

“These 20 scenes that marked my childhood had really happened but can be considered as fairy tales because of the passage of time and the change it brought about in our way of doing things.”

Ħrejjef ta’ Veru/Telltales is being exhibited at Palazzo De Piro in Mdina until October 31. Viewing times are 9.30am to 5pm between Monday and Friday and 9.30am to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays.