Monday, September 27, 2010

Thoughts on Uncle Lino's House

I wrote a letter to a friend after finding out that my Great Grandfather's house in Zejtun, was to be sold. The house was so full of childhood memories that I felt desperate at the thought of never being able to revisit it, so in the letter I wrote everything I could remember - I was afraid that without the house to remind me, I would forget. 

On my next visit to Malta I was able to visit the house one last time as it hadn't been sold yet. But everything had been auctioned off and the remaining unwanted items sat in the middle of large empty rooms. I looked all over, hoping to find something I would remember, wanting to give some last un-auctioned item a home, but nothing was familiar. It was strange to walk around this empty and unfamiliar place, it contrasted so much with what I'd described in my letter a few months earlier. 

I took photographs. I was trying to record and preserve what was left. But they were photos of unrecognizable empty rooms. They only served as a record of what was not there anymore. Later I put the letter and the photos together, and a strange little book was born (Uncle Lino's House), some sort of attempt at bridging nostalgia and reality. 


2 comments:

  1. Hi I have recently worked in this house as it has been bought and is being refurbished. Whilst there I found some items that belonged to your Uncle Lino that must have been missed when the house was cleared as they were in cupboards in the Turret. These Items where thrown into piles off rubbish for disposal. My partner and I like to find out about the history of places we work and felt it was so sad to see photographs and other items of someones life being thrown away. So I brought items home to research for our own curiosity. Eventually coming across your artical on Uncle Lino's House which we recognised at once and then this post. We would very much like to get in contact with you as believe you may wish to have these items. Regards Karen.

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    1. Hi karen
      Thank you for getting in touch, I'm glad you found me - I'm definitely interested in the items you found in uncle linos house, I really appreciate that you got in touch! This is my email address ninagerada@hotmail.com please do email so that we can arrange to meet, I am in malta at the moment - are you? Thank you, Nina

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