Little White Lies is a collection of paintings of hybrid structures of ambiguous scale and function. The works in this series derive from details of the Maltese urban fabric in the context of Valletta being redefined. Historic structures, such as bastions, interact with temporary structures, such as scaffolding, hoardings or barriers – structures of containment or control involved in the constant activity of construction, restoration and demolition, which belies permanence.
This instability is built into the construction of the paintings themselves, as the devices of painting are exploited in the way lies exploit language. The true scale of the painted subject refuses to resolve itself, remaining simultaneously miniature, model and monolith, and on closer inspection, the illusion of three dimensionality is revealed to be false and contradictory, and collapses. In this way, the treachery of images points towards the inherent precariousness of all constructs.