As a stunning new photographic exhibition by Alex Attard gets set to go on show next month, ANABEL ATTARD explores its fascinating inspiration: the little-known Notarial Archives. 

Ever heard of the Notarial Archives in Valletta? Perhaps not. I’ll admit – I hadn’t before I came into contact with photographer Alex Attard’s upcoming exhibition, which goes through the lens to provide a never-before-seen snapshot of this incredible destination.

But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. What exactly are the Notarial Archives?

“Put simply, they are a treasure trove for Malta’s hidden history; a collection of over 20,000 volumes,” explains Joan Abela, the consultant historian for the Notarial Archives ERDF Rehabilitation Project. “They constitute an outstanding primary source for historical investigation and provide an uninterrupted 600-year-old link with the past.”

In fact, as Joan explains, these archives are commonly referred to by historians as a place where the ‘collective memory of the Maltese nation’ is stored. Here, between the covers of the beautifully bound registers, lies a fascinating (and mostly still-undiscovered) social and economic history of both private and public Maltese life. For it was here that notaries, together with clergymen, formed that social group on whom the largely illiterate mass of the population from all walks of life depended.

Photo: Alex Attard

“Consequently, these records contain a mass of detailed information that would have otherwise been lost,” Joan goes on to say. “But, in order to understand the importance of this collection, it’s vital to also understand some of its history.”
In a nutshell, the curator details how the Notarial Archives were originally set up in 1640 under Grand Master Lascaris (1636-57) who, for the first time, underscored the importance of the proper keeping of notarial documents in the Deed of Foundation of the Archivio Pubblico.

Today, the Notarial Archives are governed by a separate legislation and fall under the responsibility of the Chief Notary to Government. Original copies of these notarial acts are presently deposited at 2/3, Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street, Valletta, which is also the office of the Chief Notary to Government. Register copies of these acts, which are true copies of the original documents, are housed in an 18th-century palazzo situated at 24, St Christopher Street, Valletta. The latter is the Archive that is currently undergoing a programme of rehabilitation.

“During World War II, the notarial volumes were housed in Valletta and suffered from two direct hits in April 1942,” Joan says. “This resulted in the destruction or damage of around 2,000 volumes. Then, in December 1945, the collection was transferred to the St Christopher Street address, but was re-housed in the 1960s when the palazzo had to undergo some structural reinforcements. In 1968, the original copies of the acts were moved to Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street while the Register copies were re-housed at St Christopher Street. They have remained there ever since. The shameful state in which they were abandoned is exactly the sad circumstances which the Notarial Archives Foundation actively seeks to prevent from ever being repeated.”

So, thanks to a collaboration between the government and the Foundation, the Notarial Archives have come a long way in the past few years, although Joan stresses that work on such a great scale never ceases to produce new challenges.
But, to help overcome those challenges, the Archives were awarded €5,000,000 through the successful application for funding from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) 2014-2020, which was submitted by the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government through the Office of the Notary to Government.

These much-needed monies are now being directed towards the rehabilitation of the Archives’ building fabric, the re-organisation of spaces (including a museum), the housing and shelving of the manuscripts, as well as the purchasing of new equipment and the setting up of a conservation laboratory. “This is an essential part of the process of rehabilitating the Notarial Archives since a safe and suitable building is the first step in ensuring a secure environment for the documents,” this historian says.

As I chat to Joan, her passion and love for the preservation of the Archives becomes clearer and clearer. “I guess that is fuelled by all the excitement that goes with every new discovery,” she smiles. “It is the result of every tiny piece of fragment that is saved, and underlined by every historical manuscript that is treated with respect and given back its dignity. Preserving the Archives for future generations has become an integral part of my life. I consider it a mission and a duty towards my country.”

And, among the many things being done to highlight the incredible treasures of the Archives, the Foundation is working to give them a new dimension by presenting them to artists so that these may use them as sources of inspiration – just like Alex Attard has done with his photography.

“Alex was introduced to the Archives by my dear friend – photographer and volunteer, Amanda Hsu,” Joan says. “I remember talking to Amanda about my wish to open the doors of the Archives to photographers so that, through their lens, they could capture the passion and dedication with which volunteers and staff carry out their daily tasks. For me it was important that such acts of altruism were recorded because good deeds need to be remembered as well.”

Luckily for Joan and the team, it only took a couple of hours for Alex to fall in love with the Archives and to begin to experiment with his lens. “His commitment was, and still is, truly commendable,” Joan says. “Through his art, Alex has managed to show that archives are not just for researchers but also for artists. He has created extraordinary works of art from manuscripts that had no purpose because of their lamentable condition. He gave a new lease of life to what was considered to be lost forever.

“Now, it is hoped that this first notarial archives-inspired artistic venture will lead to many more,” Joan says. “Alex’s exhibition, together with an accompanying forthcoming publication edited by Emanuel Buttigieg and myself entitled, Parallel Existences – The Notarial Archives: A Photographer’s Inspiration (Kite Group), constitute ventures into new territory for the Notarial Archives Foundation. From the original mission of saving the notarial documents from oblivion – which continues – the Foundation is now spearheading initiatives intended to take the Archives ‘out there’,” the historian underlines.

Joan Abela, consultant historian for the Notarial Archives.

Alex, meanwhile, has also become very passionate about showcasing the Archives to the public, and preserving them for future generations. I ask him what inspired him to put his upcoming exhibition together. “Well, following on from my exhibition The Overlooked Performance, in 2015, about the ephemeral art beneath the face of Renzo Piano’s Valletta parliament building, Joan asked if I would be interested in exploring the Archives – perhaps with a view to photograph them. As soon as I visited, I developed a strong emotional connection to them; the thing I loved most was being part of a small group of passionate staff and volunteers who give so much to preserve our nation’s history with so few resources.”

When he started working on this project, Alex went to the Archives around three times a week at different times of day, to simply roam around and take pictures of anything that caught his eye. He was inspired by the documents which were irreparably damaged during the war.

“A few months later, I was finally ready to set up my miniature ‘studio’ in a corner of the room by a large window and I could begin to capture the various shapes and forms I could see in these mangled, destroyed documents that would become the subject of the exhibition.

“There was so much of interest but, for the purpose of my artistic project, the most interesting of all was the space referred to as ‘the crying room’. It is here that you find boxes holding documents that were severely damaged during the war and over the passage of time. And it was there that I decided to start snapping – I was inspired to conceive and suggest alternative identities. It became a parallel existence for these forgotten manuscripts through an artistic expression, where history informs art, and art returns continuity to history by restoring time, memory and purpose to it. These lost, discarded, documents have now become art pieces in their own right providing history with continuity. I believe the results speak for themselves – hopefully (and along with the fantastic restoration work being done) safeguarding the memory these incredible treasures for a long time to come,” Alex adds.

The Notarial Archives are open to the public from Monday to Friday, from 8am to 3pm. Alex Attard’s exhibition Parallel Existences will be open at Valletta Contemporary from October 5 to November 3. The project is supported by Arts Council Malta.

This story was first featured in September's edition of Circle magazine.