Ħarbaħolma - images of a wistful escape

Abstract

In this collection of images, Silvio John finds nurturing solace in the representation of either time-forgotten nooks, or else, conversely, in places overlooked because of over-familiarity. There is a quest for a simple beauty, for a nature unspoilt in these images that one might start wondering whether this is solely the result of an aching nostalgia rather than the result of hard, factual observation. As a matter of fact, these images record places that do exist, and even if one might think otherwise, they reassure us that if we were to stop and look closely, with open hearts and minds, there are still localities of immense poetical beauty on these admittedly overbuilt islands.