A series of endearing portraits of the older generation make up the latest online exhibition of the Malta Community of Illustrators.

Frances by Moira Zahra

Titled Kliem ix-Xjuħ, it features 16 illustrators who reveal their love and appreciation for the elderly, especially their parents or nannas and nannus, through vividly-coloured quirky portraits or caricatures of their relatives. Each portrait is accompanied by a few sentences by the creatives, describing their illustrations and what inspired them.

As an example, Moira Zahra presents an illustration of her grandma, Frances, wearing a pair of 1950s-style blue sunglasses. Zahra describes the history behind these statement glasses, saying her grandfather bought them for his then girlfriend during a secret meet-up at the beginning of their relationship.

“For some reason, this random story has stuck with me and so I decided to draw a young nanna Frances wearing a pair of blue sunglasses,” she says.

Zach Ritchie sees his Nannu Nenu, aka the Mini Cooper King, as a role model. He says he is a man of few words but who inspires the artist through his actions. A former engineer, Nenu has a knack for fixing cars and building vintage Minis and is still going strong in his late 80s.

“Nothing seems to stop you, no weather, injury or age. 88 years old and you still show up to the garage and work on your passion,” Ritchie writes.

Antoine Camilleri by Pascale Abdilla

Likewise, Pascale Abdilla feels grateful to have had a nannu like the late artist Antoine Camilleri. He recalls his childhood visits to his grandparents, who used to always welcome him with open arms, “as if they hadn’t seen me for ages”. There, the family would have “long and enthusiastic” conversations over the course of lunch, very often revolving around art.

Abdilla also gives us an intimate portrait of the man behind the artist by describing how he would help his grandchildren with homework and how, on every birthday, he used to send each grandchild a birthday card signed with the words ‘Imħabba, saħħa u sliem’ (Love, health and peacefulness).

“Grandparents’ love is so uniquely beautiful...,” Abdilla writes. “Till his dying days, nannu always showered us with his love even when we hardly visited him. Back then, children were not allowed to visit patients at St Luke’s Hospital except on Sunday mornings. My mother says that his very last words were: ‘What are you doing here, go home and take care of the children’.”

Steffi Venturi also chose to dedicate her artwork to her grandmother, Doris, who is well known for her cooking and baking skills. She is, in fact, represented by a sort of caricature featuring her wearing an apron and holding a cake, seemingly coming straight out of the oven.

No matter what one thinks about the COVID-19 virus, I think we’d all agree: how much poorer life would be without your nanna or nannu

“Although she is now 88 years old, Nanna Doris still finds the energy to experiment with new recipes. She always looks forward to having visitors, friends and family over to try her delicious food,” Venturi writes, adding that such meetings bring Doris “the most joy”.

Joe De Giorgio by Miriam De Giorgio

On the other hand, Miriam De Giorgio’s work encapsulates a father’s love for his children with an illustration of her father holding her in his arms when a baby.

“These are words I hold dearly in my heart, with immense gratitude, words my father uttered the moment he held me for the first time, as his sixth child, in his arms. “Kemm stennejtek,” (I eagerly awaited you),” she writes.

She then adds that: “I owe my life to a previous generation which did not seek their self-interests first but, fortified by their faith, were rather selflessly open to life. They provided me with all the love and attention I needed and continue to do so up to this day. Because love, true endless love, exists. I have seen it. I am the result of it. Thank you mama and papa.”

Doris Venturi by Steffi Venturi

Marisa Attard’s illustration shows her mother, Violetta, sitting peacefully on a bench in a garden next to a lazy cat while solving a puzzle. The artist says that she visits her mother, 92, almost daily from a social distance − a poignant reminder of the harsh reality the older generation has been facing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

She describes the mother of five, a celebrated concert pianist in her earlier days, as being still very sharp, who still plays the piano most mornings, keeps up to date with all the news, loves watching Italian quiz shows and solving puzzles and who watches Mass three times a day on TV.

“My mother is yet another one of those amazing women and men who lived through the war and through all the changes and upheavals that life has thrown at them. She is a survivor,” Attard says proudly.

Violetta by Marisa Attard

Sebastian Tanti Burlò, who came up with the idea for this exhibition, does not present an illustration of a relative but of an old lady living in his street. Through his work, titled ‘Not Vulnerable, Yet Venerable’, and the whole exhibition, Tanti Burlò would also like to remind us how the elderly have been “shut away, isolated” due to the current pandemic, yet, he says that “this is the time they need us the most”.

“They are our grandparents, great aunts and uncles, parents and friends, teachers, neighbours and mentors. It’s high time we celebrate their presence in our society because,  no matter what one thinks about the COVID-19 virus, I think we’d all agree: how much poorer life would be without your nanna or nannu.”

To view all the exhibition, visit http://maltaillustrators.com.