Malta’s quintessential identity and the way the island lifestyle appears to defy 21st century living takes the spotlight in a long-term photographic documentation that is the result of a project spanning over a decade.

The results of the project have now been published in a book that brings together a series of photographic works and essays portraying some of the last remnants of authentic cultural identity.

Postcards From Paradise is the brainchild of Serbian artist Duška Malešević, who first came to Malta in the late 1990s and who has been exploring Malta’s “quiet time capsule and a way of life seemingly untouched by Ikea” ever since settling here.

The first edition of the book was published in 2016 and sold out soon after. The works have appeared in a number of exhibitions in Malta and abroad but the re-publication sees extended contributions by a number of writers and artists.

“The book tells the story of the Maltese islands and its mutations through candid images,” the artist said. 

“It explores an island where time is indefinable and events unfold at a slower pace. I view it as a stratification of customs, some long preserved, others irretrievably lost.”

The project, Ms Malešević adds, also documented the “more intimate, surreal side of life” in the Maltese islands, while exploring what she refers to as the “complex Maltese identity that has a mix of North African, southern Italian, Mediterranean and British influences”.

The project, the artist said, steered away from the typically picturesque shots that most of us associate with Malta and featured no beaches or quaint piazzas. Instead, the lens takes a different perspective: the hidden rooftop and the door that’s been left ajar.

“My point of view is that of an outsider who has lived intimately among the symbols of this island, which comes with an amount of contradictions,” she said. 

“In doing so, I hope to shed light on the destiny of an ancient archipelago as it moves into the future.”