The series of photographs entitled It's Still Najs!  (the colloquial spelling of 'nice' in Malta, used with a slight ironic tone to make fun of the Maltese way of pronouncing English), taken in the period between 2019 and 2023, tells a story about the absurdity of the relationship between humans and their environment, as well as about the conflict between old traditions and the 'new modernity' on the Maltese island of Gozo. 

As one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in the world, with a free-market economy which attracts numerous immigrants and tourists, Malta is experiencing a sad metamorphosis from a fabled haven of the Mediterranean into a hotchpotch of corruption and bad taste, neglect and contamination. Both its natural and cultural heritages are being sacricifed on the altar of a relentless instant gratification mentality, justified in public opinion as 'progress'. 

Gozo (whose name is believed to have come from the Aragonese word for 'Joy') has always been described as an idyllic island where time stands still – as opposed to its more developed bigger sister island, Malta, across the channel. But it has recently been propelled out of its Arcadia causing the total transformation of the place. This project explores various aspects of Gozo by discarding the conventional concepts with which this island has usually been represented. 

The mushrooming of the population can only mean more cars, tarmac roads and concrete boxes, i.e. more environmental and aesthetic degradation, air pollution, exploitation of natural resources and accumulation of litter. Climate change produces more extreme heat waves in the summer and more floods in the winter. All these problems are capped with a serious water scarcity. 

Inside this vicious circle, occasional attempts are made to contrive 'solutions' to - or rather camouflage – the existing problems in order for the enjoyment of life to continue. And so, despite the general feeling of dissatisfaction and lethargy among both natives and foreigners, one often comes across the indefensible remark "But it's still nice!"