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At MICAS, Reggie Burrows Hodges’s Vision of Malta

After steeping himself in Malta’s rising contemporary art scene, the artist considers the country from an international perspective.

Reggie Burrows Hodges isn’t the first artist to find inspiration in Malta. Four centuries earlier, in 1607, Caravaggio, on the run from a death sentence after killing a local gangster in Rome, arrived in Valletta via Naples. Despite being wanted for murder, the tempestuous painter was welcomed into the Knights of the Order of St John. The respite wouldn’t last long. More violent outbursts would see him run away from Malta just a few months after joining the Order. But during what would be a short period in Malta, he painted a masterpiece, Beheading of St John the Baptist, the largest painting he ever produced and the only one to bear his signature.

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Hodges’ largest painting to date was inspired by Caravaggio’s Beheading. Mamajamma is visible from all four floors of MICAS, Malta’s contemporary art gallery, which is located within walking distance of St John’s Co-Cathedral where Caravaggio’s painting hangs, and audiences can view the work from several angles as they make their way through “Mela,” Hodges’ solo show currently on at the........

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