Life in the Junction

The proposed monument is a creative response to add more life and joy to the urban area. Life in the Junction is a play on the idea of humanising an iconic element of our Maltese landscape, that of the prickly pear, through a charming character called Beppe. The origins of this idea is a development from a self initiated project which led to a solo exhibition, dated back in 2018. The project, titled Malta’s Got Some Character, aims to highlight and promote Maltese culture as vibrant cartoon characters. The collection iconifies key figures and characteristics of the Maltese Island, some of which include the Lady of Fertility, the Luzzu, the Maltese traditional musician, the Maltese Knight, the prickly pear, and many more. The collection has so far been well received from the public and press and is continuously evolving. Similarly, this proposal intends to highlight Malta through characters. From the several characters, Beppe the prickly pear has been chosen to be the most fitting, as he represents the prickly pears that hug our landscape. Beppe’s purpose is to add more life to the junction. The general theme of movement is being tackled in an indirect way by taking inspiration from cartoons (images in motion). The theme of motion is incorporated by having Beppe frozen in a gesture that gives the idea of a body in motion. The monument is intended to be perpendicular to the direction of the ongoing traffic to help build the illusion that he is about to cross the road.