Austin Camilleri's 2022 work, Leiva, is being exhibited in Valencia, after touring the cities of Madrid, Barcellona, Seville and Zaragoza.

Adjacent to Somnyama IV, a striking work by one of today's most acclaimed photographers,  Zanele Muholi-currently on view at Tate Modern-and a curated selection of 154 artefacts from the British Museum, Leiva stands out as a compelling presence. Used as part of the promotional material for  Veneradas y Temidas, it plays a strategic role in drawing visitors to CaixaForum's 2023-2025 exhibition program.

Leiva is a work first exhibited in Valletta in 2022, as part of Camilleri's solo show LE.IVA angerisalazyformofgrief.  As in the figures that populate the rites of passage, Leiva's name (yes/no) carries an opposition that can be translated into many other binary forms of judgement between the good and the bad, between innocence and culpability, and between witchcraft and sainthood.

Veneradas y Temidas ("Revered and Feared") spans over 5,000 years of history, exploring how feminine power-particularly of the spiritual realm-has influenced and shaped human understanding across the ages. The exhibition's final stop is CaixaForum Valencia, set within the iconic City of Arts and Sciences. It opened to the public on May 8 and is organized into five thematic sections: Creation and Nature, Passion and Desire, Magic and Malice, Justice and Defence, and Compassion and Salvation.

In this context, Camilleri's work shows unapologetically that it is not an interloper but that belongs, in the conceptual discourse's contribution and artistic relevance.

The exhibition runs until 31 August 2025.