On the 6th of September 2009, I had the honour of taking part in a world and ethnic event held at the Garden of Rest in Floriana, an evocative 1800s British cemetery that became, for one night, something else entirely.
I exhibited a mixed media sculpture entitled The Rape of Lucrece, a piece close to my heart and drawn from Shakespeare’s narrative poem about the legendary Lucretia. In the poem, Lucrece is described almost as a work of art herself, her beauty catalogued and admired as though she were a material possession rather than a person. Tarquin’s assault on her is framed in the language of conquest, her body described as a fortress under siege, each physical feature another wall to be breached. I wanted my sculpture to capture that unsettling tension, the way beauty can be objectified even as it is destroyed.
Placing the work within the cemetery added a layer I could not have planned for. Surrounded by weathered headstones and centuries of quiet history, the piece took on a new gravity, as though Lucrece herself had found a resting place among the dead.
The event itself was unlike anything I had experienced before. As night fell, the cemetery transformed into a space of ritual and celebration. Flickering fire, hypnotic lights and pulsing psychedelic music turned the historic grounds into something almost otherworldly, spiritual and alive in a way that felt both ancient and entirely new. Wandering through the space with my sculpture standing among it all was an experience I will not soon forget.
My heartfelt thanks go to Tony Bonello, the event organizer, and to the entire team behind Soul Source 2009, for creating such a powerful and unforgettable night.
