A close relationship with the environment and love for nature lead Mary Rose Saliba as the artist researcher to explore, study, examine and analyse the deep connection between nature and human presence and its manipulation. The study is a socially engaged art-research project (ABR) which highlights the lamentable divide between opposing poles, pitting natures delicately poised and aesthetically pleasing harmony against the widespread devastation of primordial rural areas.
Nostalgic moments of the past raise awareness about past and present environmental deviations. Such frustration and nostalgia encourage collaborative action, and to challenge this brutal assault by construction magnates on Gozo’s rural and urban environment. A diverse body of volunteers join forces to nurture place empathy by creating a heterotopic multisensory experience (in the form of a large bee). This concept is aimed to trigger an impassioned reaction against the manipulation and degradation of nature stemming from construction moguls for whom unsustainable over construction and uncontrolled private development trump the preservation of Gozo’s natural and cultural heritage.
