WIEĦED Sculpture By Austin Camilleri Installed In Żebbuġ, Gozo

A sculpture by Austin Camilleri has been installed at Ras ir-Reqqa, within the limits of Żebbuġ, Gozo, as part of a public art initiative led by the Ministry for Gozo.

Titled WIEĦED, meaning “one”, the work was selected through an open call issued in 2021 and later commissioned in 2023.

The project forms part of a wider scheme aimed at increasing the presence of contemporary public art in Gozo through a competitive evaluation process. It was officially launched alongside three other selected works earlier this year.

According to Camilleri, WIEĦED “marks a bold intervention that rethinks the relationship between monument, landscape, and cultural identity”.

‘Blending playfulness with conceptual depth, WIEĦED creates a “pure image” inspired by European statuary. The work reinterprets traditional sculptural codes through a process of sampling and transformation’, wrote Camilleri.

The bronze work features an asymmetrical structure with a pronounced cantilever, supported by a steel armature designed for coastal conditions.

Its form responds to the surrounding landscape, reflecting the site’s contours and engaging with nearby natural features, including the submerged Billighurst Cave.

No new pathways, plinth or lighting were introduced, in line with efforts to minimise intervention and preserve the existing landscape.

‘Ultimately, WIEĦED seeks to position itself as a lasting cultural symbol that connects past and present while coexisting with the natural environment.’

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