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I grew up immersed in comic books and drawing in a working-class class community and then became a “working artist,” eventually designing and illustrating alternate worlds for games. Taking a leap, I discovered that the skills and practices I’d honed creating game environments allowed me to create worlds of my own devising. My move into personal expression gave my mind the freedom to journey unconsciously to bits and pieces of memory, many unresolved. This piece, “tal-Erwieh,” means “Of Souls” in Maltese. It is about gratitude, long and overdue, a thank-you to those who inspired me to risk and have the courage to create for myself the breathing room, maybe the indulgence, to start making art as self-expression, and to examine my own stories through the work. This simple but profound gift continues to define my life as a "working artist" today.

Charles Aquilina

c.aquilina@sbcglobal.net