The City of Silence, 2021
acrylic on canvas, 130 × 100 cm

“An obligatory stop on our Malta trip is Mdina, the City of Silence, the old capital. We go there by bus. Malta is well-served in terms of transport. We travel exclusively by bus, and that way take the opportunity to observe the everyday life of the inhabitants. We enter the city through the majestic Mdina Gate, the entrance way that appears in Game of Thrones.

We go on our way, and the atmosphere of the place lets us become part of it for a moment. A little sleepy, silent, and magical. Strolling along the twisty cobbled streets, you have the impression that time has stopped. The whole town is full of houses the colour of sandstone. The walls, pavements, and the cupolas of the churches are built of it too. We are charmed by the lovely little corners with their flourishing green plants and their picturesque original architecture, all enveloped in silence. There is nothing like street noise here. Within the walls of this city there is only silence.

Before we left, I read that Malta is a huge museum under an open sky. I saw that with my own eyes. I couldn’t have put it any better.”

SEA EU Maritime Universities
in the Paintings of Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Gdańsk 2022