This is the story of how an in-house craft ale was created to make a statement. It is about adding meaning to a design project that became personal and controversial, turning it into a fight for the country’s welfare; about communicating messages, sparking unease and provoking debate through art. It was the push graphic designer Chris Mahoney from Oneandthree needed to translate his accumulated anger and disappointment over Malta’s state of affairs into artwork.

Graphic designer Chris Mahoney’s working relationship with Margo’s owner Claude Camilleri started over commercial projects for his pizzeria. But as they got to know each other, they realised most of their ideals and values were aligned, turning the client-supplier relation-ship into a friendship.  

The dynamics encouraged the non-conventional restaurateur to seek more daring solutions to his design requests – ones that provoked thought and debate. Often, they were tied to current affairs he tackled head-on due to his unapologetically outspoken nature.  

Camilleri’s drive to fight for justice, truth and a country freed of corruption is continually fanned by the battle he faces at Mistra Bay – the location of one of his two restaurants – where the public’s access to the beach and his business have been plagued by illegally parked caravans for over a decade with no solution in sight. 

As with many other restaurants, Margo’s business was hard hit by COVID-19. With more time on his hands, and in keeping with his passion for in-house produce, Camilleri decided to start brewing his own beer as an experiment. But he did not stop there…  

One of the resulting five craft ales is called The Happy Camper, inspired by the 11-year battle for “what is rightfully yours and mine”. 

Unwilling to settle for standard beer labels, one day, he approached Mahoney with a short request to prod society: “Let’s not allow this opportunity to go to waste. We’ll go completely Maltese… They will fall under the brand Tal-Pastaż. One of the beers will be called Qaħba f’Xalata…” 

And so, the Tal-Pastaż Micro Brewery in Mistra was born, churning out beers that are motivated by controversial current affairs.  

Qaħba f’Xalata, for example – a name Mahoney is still uncomfortable with – sums up the “whole incredible soap-opera feel since the mind-blowing story of the Panama Papers scandal broke”. It is a tribute to those who stand up to the corrupt, the criminal and the dis-honest, hiding behind a thin veil of political indecency to cover their crimes. 

“I want to create something meaningful and make a statement. Others have sacrificed much more; Daphne [Caruana Galizia] with her life. This is the least I could do,” Camilleri had told the designer. 

Being a reserved person, especially since becoming a father, Mahoney admits he is not as outspoken as his client. But he went for it. 

“I admire Claude’s courage to speak up, irrespective of others’ position of power and despite having a young family and a business to protect. This project felt like a good opportunity to make up, even if minimally, for my inaction.” 

Additionally, the polluted air the Maltese have had to get used to living in, exacerbated by the country’s social and economic ‘road plan’, had a devastating impact on Mahoney’s newborn son’s health. Deciding this was not the life they wanted for their children, he and his wife took the difficult decision to leave behind family, friends, their home, jobs and life as they knew it to start afresh elsewhere.  

“Therefore, this fight for the country’s welfare is very close to heart and taking up this project was simply a no-brainer,” he acknowledges. 

Mahoney says it was “the push I needed to translate my accumulated anger and disappointment over the state of affairs into artwork”.  

In recent years, he has been following, with great interest and admiration, local artists, namely Seb Tanti Burlò and Steve Bonello, who have been using their medium and talent “to great effect” in the field of activism. 

“They have developed a great skill in effectively com-municating messages that transcend the political status quo we are paralysed by, sparking a sense of unease among their audience, provoking reflection and debate.  

“I believe that is a very powerful gift and I was look-ing forward to seeing what sort of impact and change I could bring about through this project.” 

Being a commercial graphic designer, not an illus-trator, the artistic solution he sought was outside his comfort zone, so Mahoney put “loads” of research into the project.  

The empty chair represents sorrow at how her life was cut short, regret that it wasn’t prevented, and anger at the lack of accountability that ensued

Having just the name of one beer bottle to start off with, he was initially exploring a conceptual direction that drew parallels between George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Malta’s political and social landscape, as well as researching the processes and tastes of the different beers to see some sort of connection between the beverage’s characteristics and the message on the label. 

But eventually, he opted to take a more direct route to the current affairs hitting the headlines day in, day out.  

From thereon, it was a case of beefing up the mess-age and solidifying it through visual cues within the illustrations, all of which have a backstory.  

“For all my projects, I don’t just design for the sake of designing something that ‘looks beautiful’. For me, that’s not good enough, as despite its beauty, the out-come would still be soulless.  

“I’d much rather have a horribly executed graphic with a strong message and rationale behind it; that can be so much more meaningful. Perhaps, it’s for this reason that I wasn’t too concerned about my lack of illustra-tion experience – I was emboldened by the rationale supporting it.”  

The concepts and illustrations were instantly taken on board by Camilleri, and with copywriting being another powerful weapon in the restaurateur’s arsenal, he sealed the project with hard-hitting copy that adorns the back labels. 

The idea is to amplify the absurdity of the situation the country finds itself in.  

“I’m hoping this incredible reality hits home even while having a beer; a juxtaposition of sorts when you consider this is generally enjoyed in a relaxing environment, surrounded by good company,” Mahoney says.  

“It’s meant to make people laugh at what’s staring them in the face, while contemplating how we got to this point.  

“I wanted to encourage round-the-table debates; to be thought-provoking; to offend. I wanted the impact to be similar to a powerful sketch by a stand-up comedian, who, through side-splitting routines, is hitting a harsh reality that gets you thinking for weeks on end, and will make you want to do something about it before it’s too late.” 

However, Mahoney also wanted the concepts to age well and not be overly topical and outdated within months. Although The Spineless Twat, for example, was inspired by current events in the law courts, its message is timeless and should serve as a reminder to anyone in office that they are serving the country, not themselves, he stresses. 

Referring to “amnesia en masse” that saw politicians and businessmen conveniently forget what they had and had not done, the skeleton on the front label is meant to remind everyone involved that, in the end, “we are all mortals and will take nothing with us so we should do the right thing while living.  

“Knowing this ‘advice’ will fall on deaf ears, I went for a pose that seems to be saying: ‘Ħeqq, x’tagħmel, hux?’ All we’ve seen is weak men in suits, tossed by the wind of the day, hence the tie in motion.” 

Mahoney also felt it was only fitting that one of the bottles should serve as an homage to the life, work and bravery of assassinated investigate journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was also Camilleri’s personal friend. 

Table 14 is named after the place she used to sit at whenever she dined at Margo’s in Valletta and is “just a miniscule step in the fight for justice”. 

The pen and notepad on the table in the illustration signify her unfinished work, while “the empty chair rep-resents sorrow at how her life was cut short, regret that it wasn’t prevented, and anger at the lack of account-ability that ensued”. 

However, being half drawn out, the chair also acts as an invitation to others to carry on where she left off, which has happened thanks to The Daphne Project.  

Other elements are simply references to Daphne, the person… the bay laurel, which has come to symbolise her, while the frame includes one of her many pins in her Pinterest account, which had garnered attention after her murder. 

Unable to fathom the sorrow and hardship Caruana Galizia’s family must have gone through, Mahoney later learnt that this specific artwork gave them some solace on the third anniversary of her assassination.  

“I feel like all the beautiful illustration I’m seeing today is the best kind of reaction to ugliness,” her son Matthew wrote in a Facebook post. 

“In all honesty, that I was able to contribute in that manner made me feel like my participation in this project was wholly justified,” Mahoney concludes.