Haunting remnants: exhibition meditates on our shared memory

Roderick Camilleri’s works, currently displayed at MUŻA as part of the exhibition Memories from the Future, can be seen as a haunting allegory of the future human condition – a visual meditation on loss, transformation and the precarious journey towards renewal. Could our future, our unfulfilled memories, already be shaping our present reality?

The artist’s Nomads, a series of etchings, traverse a dystopic landscape wounded by humanity’s own destructive hand. They wander aimlessly, suggesting a desperate search for a lost Eden – a world where vibrancy and meaning once existed.

The deliberate use of black, white and grey hints at a world stripped of original colour, symbolising the stripping away of life, hope or even moral clarity.

Nomad I, Nomad Series, 2021

In their muted existence, these figures search for ‘the colour’ that has vanished – the kind we find abundant in nature, culture and the authentic self. The multiple incisions in the etching not only prefigure the landscape but also attest to the agility of the artist’s hand in rendering a scene that is hastily materialising.

Philosophically, this can be seen as a commentary on the wounded state of the planet, where every step forward is fraught with the remnants of our past mistakes, much like the scars on a battered landscape.

Nomads, Nomad Series, 2021

Camilleri’s figures attach themselves to stilts which they use to navigate the landscape. My mind immediately goes to images of circus performers or, if seen from afar, mythological beings. Traditionally, such beings possess an almost magical quality, straddling the realms of the mundane and the mystical.

Yet here, the stilts also symbolise a loss of groundedness, an existential dislocation. So, while Camilleri hints at a transformation, one that is elevated, the very act of walking on stilts presents us with an element of caution and vulnerability.

Far from being Greek titans or biblical Goliaths, these figures venture through their altered reality with care – a stark reminder that evolution, be it technological, cultural or environmental, often comes at the cost of freedom.

Nomads, The Migrants, 2021

In many ways, I view these works as a response to the Futurist movement of the early 20th century. Umberto Boccioni, Tommaso Marinetti and Antonio Sant’Elia’s works championed speed, innovation and machinery, creating dynamic compositions that re-envisioned urban life and progress. A lot of what they imagined came true – wireless communication, a rise in computing power and even early hints of digital connectivity.

While they supported the concept of war, even calling it, “the world’s only hygiene”, they did not anticipate the digital alienation and erosion of human connection that such advancements would later bring. Through his pieces entitled Refugees, Camilleri opens a dialogue with the Futurists – reminding them about the balance that needs to be struck between progress and preservation and what we are left with when we associate progress with war.

Untitled II, Blurred Visions Series, 2025

The EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian aid record that in 2024, there were 68.3 million internally displaced people worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), seven million premature deaths each year occur due to air pollution, with contaminated water and soil further exacerbating public health crises.

Data from Global Forest Watch shows that in recent years, the world has lost an average of 7.2 million hectares of tree cover annually. These statistics coupled with Camilleri’s work tell us that, in many ways, the future is already here.

Another of Camilleri’s central concepts is time. He challenges the linear perception of time. In other words, the sequential notion of past, present and future – presenting it instead as an interconnected, ever-changing whole. This aligns with Heidegger’s notion of temporality in Being and Time, where existence emerges from the constant interplay of past, present and future.

Untitled, Blurred Visions Series, 2025

Our identities, Heidegger claims, are shaped not only by past experiences and present realities but also by how we project ourselves into the future. This fluidity allows for the reinterpretation of the past – through personal reflection – which can reshape present identity. Likewise, future aspirations also feed back into the present, influencing how we perceive ourselves.

Camilleri’s art invites us to engage in this reflective process. His melancholic visions of the future prompt audiences to reassess historical choices, particularly concerning environmental neglect, industrialisation and greed, drawing links to our current ecological crisis.

In Heideggerian terms, this provides an Augenblick – a “moment of vision” – that breaks through our habitual complacency, one where the viewer is confronted with the urgency of future consequences, compelling us to act in the present.

Untitled, Blurred Visions Series, 2025

In engaging with these memories, Camilleri’s work invites us to build a ‘collective memory’ that transcends linear time. It warns that our current environmental crises, rooted in unsustainable practices, are indelibly linked to both our past actions and our unfulfilled future. If we ignore these premonitions, we will be perpetuating a downward spiral of ecological neglect and irreversible harm.

The interconnected nature of time urges us to adopt non-linear strategies that not only address immediate challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss; they also nurture the possibilities for a sustainable future grounded in collective remembrance and proactive environmental stewardship.

Memoirs from the Future is open at MUŻA until April 20.