Maltese artist Kevin Scerri today presented The Malta Independent with a replica of the press freedom sculpture currently standing in the media room of the European Parliament building in Brussels, on the second anniversary of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The murdered journalist was a columnist with this newsroom. She was murdered in a car bomb on 16 October 2017.
PN MEP Roberta Metsola accompanied Scerri to TMI offices today, saying the artist had presented the original sculpture to the former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani in May 2018.
Scerri, she said, decided that every year a newsroom in Malta will be given a replica of that sculpture. The replica was presented to Standard Publications managing director Noel Azzopardi in the presence of editors and journalists.
“You are our voice,” Scerri said, addressing the newsroom. The underside of the sculpture reads: “If you break our pencil, we will sharpen all pieces and come back stronger.”
The base is made out of walnut, he said, which signifies the need to have strong foundations based on honesty and integrity. The hand is made out of driftwood, symbolising that one does not need to be a high-level person to make a difference, he added.
The hand holds a broken pencil, symbolising the words written underneath the sculpture. Lastly, there is a bay laurel leaf, signifying Daphne Caruana Galizia, he said.