Space is running out fast on this small island nation of ours, population is the densest in Europe, we place close to first in pollution surveys, green spaces are considered as cash cows for unscrupulous so-called developers, a building frenzy whose defining characteristic is its most hideous aesthetic has taken over. We are being suffocated out of our existence, out of our land, metaphorically and literally running out of breath. The sea and the sky offer some scant sort of relief from the overpowering claustrophobic nightmare. Quality of life has indeed become a misnomer in a Maltese context as it has gone to the dogs. Dominique Ciancio’s exhibition Return Island explores this dystopic reality whose emerging idiosyncrasies are more pronounced, especially for the artist who spends a considerable proportion of his days away from the din and the excesses that have become our way of life. Ciancio returns periodically to the island after time in Norway, which is his second home. The pandemic has restricted his travelling and, therefore, has exacerbated his misgivings. The Scandinavian perspective that a healthy environment is of the essence and of prime importance jars with...