In the end, the new statues in Valletta symbolising Maltese proverbs only managed to last a few days before they were targeted by vandals. After reports last evening that two of the art pieces in the “Kif Jgħid il-Malti” have already been vandalised, the chairperson of the Valletta 2018 Foundation has now taken to Facebook to display the full extent of the damage. Parts of some off the statues completely sliced off, while swear words have been graffitied on at least one of the artworks. 

“There are no words in my dictionary strong enough to express my condemnation for this bare-faced vandalism,” Jason Micallef said. “This is an act of gross ignorance and of sick minds who cannot stomach the progress that is currently going on in Valletta, progress that the whole country is benefitting from.”

The project is the work of Maltese artists Joel Saliba and Margaret Pace from Ikona Artworks, assisted by Sara-Lee Zammit, Chris Galea and Perry Scenic Ltd. Saliba said the statues are intended to be thought provoking and to encourage people to reflect on the Maltese language. 

What do you make of this latest act of vandalism? 

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]