Over the past months, several of those “messages” have been popping up all around Malta. The oldest, and possibly most famous, is the quote from the Black Sabbath song “Heaven and Hell”, ’The World is full of kings and queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams’, written right in front of the bus stop at Bombi. It has gained notoriety with pictures all over the social media, as well as being the subject of several articles. However, it seems that it was the first of many that are most probably connected.
Another popular one which was removed – due to the temporary wall it was painted on being removed – was in Marsa, inspired by Gandhi. Reading ’The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed’, it beckoned out to be more thoughtful with the resources of our world. Across the street, another graffiti read “Revolution”, with the letters “evol” spelt backwards and in red, to spell out love. Other graffiti, albeit barely noticed, included several of Banksy’s trademark painting, which depicts a hooligan throwing a bouquet of flowers, as well as another quote reading “The people don’t know their true power” near the Mater Dei roundabout, which was found a few days before the MEP election; possibly passing on the message that people need to start thinking – and voting – for themselves, rather than for their parties. Another, less conspicuous one, reads out “We buy shit we don’t need – with money we don’t have – to impress people we don’t love.” A cliché quote, but the meaning is quite clear; the modern life as we know it has deteriorated into a pathetic attempt to satisfy others, rather than ourselves. Another one which has a clear meaning reads, in Maltese, “hawn niftakru kollu ghelieqi…” (“I remember this place to be full of fields…”). This is a lament, and a blaming finger, aimed at the irresponsible takeover of buildings all over Malta.
However, the most recent piece of art that has taken over Malta, and the social medias, is situated at Bombi, in the middle of the stairs that lead down to the bus stop. In a sarcastic tone, it agrees to be pathetic, ruled without question and oblivious to everything that happens around us. Ending the paragraph with an accusing “Signed: Yourself?”, this puts the blame on the citizens who live life seeing red and blue, and only look at their own well-being, rather than the suffering of others, and the destruction of nature, the Maltese history, our language and culture, and everything that is meaningful to us.
