On a bright Sunday November morning and after just spending a week in Copenhagen for my other line of work in the vast expanse of Information Technology I drive my rented car and pick up Kristina Quintano and Caroline Said Lawrence to make our way yet again to Mgarr Ix-Xini pumping station on Gozo. The weather is a bit colder then when we scouted last but at least the sun is on our side.

Conversations of the current political climate filled the atmosphere of the car as we made our way to the site. It truly is a mad time where the bubble of peace might actually break open. Thought in the back of my mind, it can just be all smoke and mirrors made to fear and guide us into thinking and believing in doom and gloom.

Coffee before the Storm
Photography by Kristina Quintano
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved

We stopped for a coffee in the beautiful Gozo village and then headed down the bamboo and clearing to the pumping station. With the amount of rain in the last couple of days, the vegetation was much more prominent then before.

Bamboo Hike
Photography by Kristina Quintano
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved

As I setup the tripod, with the trusty iPhone for time-lapse, Caroline begins to take out her canvas and paints as she enters her creative realm.

From blobs of colour to a skeletal structure Caroline swings her arms as she smoothly lights a cigarette near the flammable liquids. Creativity must have a sense of danger but coolness reins supreme.

As I film and photograph, Kristina ever so cleverly takes the behind-the-scenes photography and with that a charged atmosphere of creativity is born in this valley of history, beauty and mystery.

Working on the Canvas of Enternity
Photography by Kristina Quintano
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved

The structure reins supreme in its abandoned beauty. As I took some wide shots of Caroline at work, I noticed that she started to blend into the environment like a chameleon. Furthermore, the painting also began to blend into the environment.

Kristina and I proceeded to traverse towards the structure to obtain some additional footage close up and inside the structure. It is quite difficult to reach the building as there is a large gorge with prickly vines sticking from every corner but Kristina was a trooper with her Nike shoes and skirt!

As we entered the structure, the sound and swoop of pigeons once again gave me the creeps but the ominous empty room provided an atmosphere perfect for imagination.

I am afraid of heights but again looking down into the large pit in the center of this space was once not for the faint of heart. I still wonder how it was built and what can be found down below.

Capturing from Above
Photography by Mark Magro
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved

After capturing the graffiti, some of which contains some amusing commentary, we make our way back to Caroline who has, at this point in time, produced a breathtaking piece of art that captures the area.

It was at this moment, as the sun dwindled, that I felt enormous pressure to delve back into the archives and to work as hard as I can to produce the best possible product for the exhibit.

Nightfall Thanks
Photography by Mark Magro
Copyright 2016. Wanted Media. All Rights Reserved

It will be a very busy holiday season ahead of me.
Mark M.