'Toiling in craft: An anthology of stories on art and Malta'

Author: Giovanni Bonello

Publisher: Kite Group and Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti / 2026

Pages: 248

In this new title Toiling in craft: An anthology of stories on art and Malta, published by Kite Group and Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Giovanni Bonello probes the restless, imperfect human impulse that drives creation, exploring it both as craft and compulsion: an act shaped as much by flaw, guilt, and circumstance as by inspiration.

With typical wit, irony, and a keen sensitivity to nuance, Bonello uncovers some familiar and less familiar stories related to Malta's artistic and cultural heritage. From the shifting symbolism of monkeys in art and language, to the layered meanings of justice and power; from the rediscovery of Antoine Favray to the enigmas surrounding historic inscriptions and lost masterpieces, each essay reveals the tension between intention and outcome, vision and limitation. The lives of artists themselves - among them Willie Apap, Robert Caruana Dingli, Giorgio Preca, Richard Dadd, and others - emerge as deeply human narratives marked by ambition, frustration, eccentricity, and, at times, tragedy. The volume also explores key moments of transformation, including the introduction of photography and film in Malta: phenomena that were once steeped in "magic" are now confronting an increasingly sceptical age. Through its anecdotes, this volume invites readers to consider, or reconsider, the paradox of creative labour: not quite as an act of pristine genius, but rather as a timeless activity caught up, as it were, between burden and necessity, struggle and relief.

Copies are available online from www.kitegroup.com.mt or leading bookstores.

For more information phone on 9993 2592