Borrowed Territories by Jade Zammit Opens in Sliema This Week
A new solo exhibition by Jade Zammit opens at Marie Gallery 5 from 24 April to 10 June.
A new body of work by Maltese artist Jade Zammit goes on display this week, as Borrowed Territories opens to the public on 24 April. Presented at Marie Gallery 5 in Tigné, Sliema, the exhibition brings together paintings and drawings shaped by the artist’s travels across Australia, India, Cuba and Costa Rica.
Though geographically distant, these locations share layered and often complex colonial histories. Zammit’s work draws out unexpected visual and cultural parallels between them, suggesting a fragmented yet interconnected terrain shaped by traces of European influence.
At the heart of the exhibition is a reflection on how ideas of land, belonging and identity have been constructed, and contested, over time. Referencing The Secret River by Kate Grenville, Zammit considers the imposition of European notions of ownership onto lands already defined by Indigenous knowledge systems. The declaration of land as “mine” emerges as a central tension, pointing to histories of displacement while raising broader questions about how belonging is defined.
The exhibition also frames colonisation as an act shaped not only by control, but by longing. Settlers often attempted to recreate familiar environments in unfamiliar territories, yet these efforts frequently faltered. Landscapes resisted imposed identities, retaining their autonomy despite cultural overlays, a dynamic that informs the exhibition’s title, Borrowed Territories.
Zammit’s approach further resonates with the concept of Anthropophagy, introduced by Oswald de Andrade and later explored by Tarsila do Amaral. Within this framework, identity is not passively inherited but actively reshaped through the absorption and transformation of external influences.
Born in 1990, Zammit holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Malta. While her early work focused on delicate, observational drawing rooted in intimate live sessions, her recent practice has shifted toward heavier compositions, incorporating bold colour and layered textures. Her work continues to explore space and form, grounded in lived experience and close observation.
Borrowed Territories runs until 10 June at Marie Gallery 5.
