Emma Agius’ Bold Solo Exhibition Numbered Days Opens In Valletta, Exploring Trauma, Healing And Transformation
Malta-based artist Emma Agius is opening up a powerful conversation with her latest solo exhibition, Numbered Days, which launched last Friday at the Basement Vaults of the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta.
Known for her raw honesty and fearless vulnerability, Agius presents a deeply personal body of work that navigates the terrain between trauma and recovery, pain and resilience, drawing directly from her own experience as a survivor of sexual violence.
Emma Agius is not only a visual artist but also a mental health advocate, having founded the initiative YANA (You Are Not Alone) Malta to help build awareness and support for mental health in the community.
Through her expressive and often mixed-media installations, she’s become known for transforming personal struggles into shared, immersive experiences.
Her work has struck a chord locally, especially among those yearning for more open conversations around trauma and emotional healing.
Numbered Days invites visitors into an immersive environment where the themes of memory and survival are physically present.
One of the most striking pieces in the show is a large freezer installation containing a block of ice encasing a funeral letter, a personal release addressed to her abuser.
As the ice melts throughout the duration of the exhibition, it becomes a moving metaphor for the thawing of memories and the emotional release of long-held pain.
Other powerful pieces include a quilt cover printed with unicorns, childhood symbols of innocence, now laced with haunting imagery, as well as upright and collapsed hobby unicorn sticks that blend playfulness with devastation.
Trails of raw, expressive drawings pulled from Agius’ personal sketchbooks line the exhibition space, documenting her emotional journey over several years.
“This exhibition is not just my personal story,” Agius explains. “It’s an invitation for viewers to reflect on their own experiences of loss, survival, or resilience. I hope it opens up space for connection, conversation, and a sense of shared humanity.”
Emma is currently appealing a court verdict in which a magistrate ruled that consent had been given in her case against a man she accused of rape, a man who was her assigned carer while she was a patient at Mount Carmel Hospital.
Emma shared publicly how he raped her in her bed in her own home back in 2022 where she describes the feeling of the terrifying moment as “living the last minutes of my life” out of fear that she would be killed.
In the face of this ruling, Emma has courageously chosen to speak out and continue her pursuit of justice, using the powerful phrase “Shutting Up Is Not OK” as a rallying cry, not only for herself, but for all survivors who feel dismissed or unheard by the justice system.
Numbered Days runs until 31st May at the Basement Vaults of the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta. The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 12pm and 4pm to 7pm, and entry is free of charge.
Trigger warning: This exhibition contains sensitive content related to sexual violence and trauma. Visitors are encouraged to care for their emotional well-being while engaging with the work.
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