What is the concept behind Solitude?

So there were really two ideas: one of the things which I think is really changing society is this dual life we lead.

I have been immersed in the tech industry from a very young age. I’ve always been a very early adopter and I’ve been living ‘online’ since the Mirc days, the online gaming days, the hi5 days and, nowadays, the myriad social media platforms we all use. I have had an online presence and online friends for a while, so much so that nowadays if I am cut off from the internet for more than a few hours I feel physically anxious.

Having said that, mine was still a generation that grew up without the internet, so we are unlike our younger brothers and sisters who are even more affected by this need to link up online.

This brings us to today, where we all have our ‘real’ lives and our online lives – two, sometimes completely disparate, worlds where you may feel like a king in one (especially if you consider the escape worlds like World of Warcraft or some other game) and horribly alone and insignificant in the other. You might feel that you need to hide the ‘ugliness’ of real life and only show the perfect parts through your online window.

To sum it all up, I feel that we are deeply alone despite having so many virtual people around us. Hence, solitude.

What about the other concept?

From a technical point of view, I love motion in my photos and I wanted to create a world that’s moving around one central person. To make a distinction, I wanted a white, bold outfit for this person, as the world around flitted in black blurs. We shot Solitude in Paris in January. I chose Paris for its unique aesthetic, and also because of the motion and life the city has. I also thought I could count on Parisians wearing dark coats in the winter, which helped bring out the effect.

I wanted to create a world that’s moving around one central person

Since we were shooting entirely in black and white, which I love, the architecture in Paris and all the lovely textures in the streets and buildings really add to the mood.

I’ve been playing with some parts of the shoot, on and off, since January. However, the wait was really long and so I alternated between wanting to show off the collection to the world and burying it deep in my hard drive and trying to forget about it. Until we are finally here, with the exhibition launched.

Do you have a favourite piece?

If I really had to pick – and I have probably answered this differently over the course of the last week, just saying – it would probably be the one in Place des Vosges with the sun rising behind the model, Gabriella. She’s alone in the garden, the trees are bare and it really sums up the feeling I wanted to portray. Plus, I’m a sucker for back lit photos.

Solitude runs at Palazzo de Piro, Mdina, until November 24.