Bonaci’s Wens, Comfortable Silence takes its title from the Maltese word wens, defined in Joseph Aquilina’s Maltese-English Dictionary as ‘the feeling of peace of mind one experiences in somebody’s company’. With this as her guide, Bonaci turns inward, drawing inspiration from her closest relationships to explore how profound meaning often resides in the smallest of shared moments.

Rendered in loose, living colours, her dreamlike figures inhabit worlds of stars, flowers, and clouds, utopian landscapes where family and nature coexist in harmony. Nudity here is not vulnerability but freedom, stripped of shame and judgment, where presence itself becomes an act of belonging.

At a time when society prizes productivity above all else, Bonaci’s decision to focus on purposeless intimacy, lives lived together quietly, lovingly, feels quietly radical. Her work reclaims fulfilment not as an act of ego, but as a practice of giving and receiving, of embracing connection with others.

This exhibition also continues threads from her 2023 solo Ġuf, delving into embodied personhood and the feminine experience, while honouring heritage and the preservation of memory. In both exhibitions, Bonaci explores how belonging arises from shared remembrance and interconnection across generations.

Wens, Comfortable Silence invites audiences into a tactile, silent world charged with dual energy, an awareness of inevitable change and loss, but also a promise of solace through love, slowness, and reflection. For Bonaci, creating these works has been an act of comfort, and she hopes the same tenderness reaches viewers as they enter her imagined, harmonious universe.

Valletta Contemporary welcomes the public to experience this intimate exhibition at 15, 16, 17 Triq Lvant (East Street), Valletta. For more details, visit vallettacontemporary.com or follow the gallery on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.