Silence Within Abundant Birdsong

Curated by - Andrew Borg Wirth & Sera Galea

Manikata Reflections

Julian Vassallo 2025, Photography, Travertine

In Manikata, three goats find themselves in the camera lens of a young Richard England. Documenting it on its first day captures its spirit before releasing it forever to all who make their way to its land.

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It is curious that Julian Vassallo chooses to see his photographs as Reflections. Like Richard England, he is an architect and photographer. Perched onto a floor of fragmented travertine, there is a transience in the photos’ lustre. They reinforce the idea that architecture is amongst the least permanent of all artistic disciplines. The entropy of the building, its materials and the surrounding land, are all given prominence. There are no bodies in the images, just space to be filled. What Richard England sought to create was an air of contemplation—a space to reflect and be reflected back the nous and spirit of the land upon which one prayed. Julian Vassallo understands that, more than ever, what architecture needs is more time to reflect. He repositions the eye to the ground, and brings us back to our knees.