Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537460
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JULY 2025 ART Julila Borg's Inner Garden: A lyrical journey of creativity, presence, and emotional bloom THIS summer, artist Julia Borg is return- ing to The Phoenicia Malta and invites us into a deeply intimate and luminous world with her latest exhibition, Inner Garden. This is a vibrant floral collection that springs from a year of emotional open- ness, artistic growth, and rediscovered presence. Marking a turning point in her creative practice, Inner Garden unfolds as a visual and emotional dialogue between the art- ist and her environment. "Over the past year", Borg explains, "I've found myself opening up more — welcoming others in- to my life, and being welcomed in return. These exchanges became the light that nourished this collection". Each work reflects this shared reso- nance, brought to life through a bold and expressive hand. Painted while immersed in the rhythms of jazz, Borg's process embraced spontaneity and emotion, col- our often mixed directly on the canvas to evoke authenticity and surprise. Her palette, dominated by lush greens and ra- diant magentas, signals the vitality of inner landscapes in full bloom. The message at the heart of the exhibi- tion is both universal and deeply person- al: Tend to your inner garden. Be present. Create with intention. Borg reminds us that within each of us lies a sacred, creative space: a place that deserves care, attention, and joy. Her works become meditations on that space, inviting viewers to pause, re- flect, and reconnect with their inner selves. In a touching addition to the exhibition, Borg will wear a dress she sewed herself— her first ever—as a symbolic gesture of returning to childhood dreams and the courage of creative beginnings. "It wasn't about the outcome," she says, "but about the process—the act of creating something simply because I felt drawn to it." The works are rendered in mixed media, combining acrylic and oil to achieve depth, fluidity, and expressive texture. Her lay- ering of materials mirrors the emotional strata of the year that inspired them. Ultimately, Inner Garden is an offering of soulfulness, a call to remember the joy of making, and a quiet celebration of the beauty of being fully, radiantly alive. 'Inner Garden' is open at the Palm Court Lounge, The Phoenicia Malta, until 31 Ju- ly.