03/10/2025
Bandiera Bajda is a site-specific visual art installation in Valletta. Rooted in Malta’s Mediterranean aesthetic and cultural traditions, the project reclaims and reinterprets the symbolic weight of the "white flag", locally associated with male absence in fatherhood contexts.
The work responds to a commonly held Maltese expression warning young women that men are a "bandiera bajda", suggesting they easily shirk paternal responsibility. The work challenges such ingrained and reductive assumptions by presenting a temporary outdoor installation that includes nine illuminated words, drawn from intimate interviews with men who experience fatherhood in diverse ways. These words were inscribed onto white bedsheets hung above Melita Street in Valletta on nine washing lines.
The installation marries the domestic and the poetic: the act of hanging white linen; a deeply rooted Mediterranean ritual, is given a transformative, contemporary twist. By night, the light inscriptions imbued the street with an almost magical atmosphere, inviting reflection and reverence. The work’s material sensitivity extended to its environmental integration; Farrell used ethically sourced second-hand textiles and existing wall hooks found on-site, ensuring no physical alteration or damage to Valletta’s architectural heritage.
The project took place during June to coincide with Father’s Day and was inaugurated by Dr Lydia Abela, a legal practitioner and influential public figure, and endorsed by Mr Olaf McKay, Mayor of Valletta. The month-long installation was accompanied by four Sunday evening public discussions at the Valletta Local Council Hall, fostering genuine civic engagement around the evolving role of fatherhood in Malta.
Bandiera Bajda was more than a visual installation. It was an active, lived presence in the heart of Valletta where the hanging fabrics moved gently with the breeze, shifting with the light by day and softly illuminated by night, creating an engaging interplay of motion, light, and shadow. Yet its impact went beyond visual appeal. The work became even more alive with direct public interaction: visitors walked through the installation beneath the suspended linens, read the illuminated words and the accompanying stories of the featured fathers displayed along Melita Street, and took part in the organised discussions. A feedback book placed outside Trabuxu Wine Bar, where the artist added a final washing line bearing her signature, invited written reflections from the public. Engagement extended to a dedicated page, allowing the project’s message to reach wider audiences and continue the conversation online. In this way, Bandiera Bajda functioned as a socially engaged artwork; responsive, participatory, and embedded in the everyday life of the city.
