{"id":399875,"date":"2026-04-27T12:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/399875\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:26:09","slug":"the-eight-legged-horse-that-divided-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/399875\/","title":{"rendered":"The Eight-Legged Horse That Divided Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new sculpture<\/a> along Gozo\u2019s coastline is turning heads and dividing opinion.<\/p>\n

Last week, an abstract, eight-legged horse titled \u201cWIE\u0126ED\u201d by Gozitan artist Austin Camilleri was installed near the Xwejni Salt Pans at Ras ir-Reqqa, and it has quickly become the centre of a national conversation.<\/p>\n

If it feels familiar, that\u2019s because it is.<\/p>\n

Camilleri is no stranger to controversy<\/a>. His earlier horse-inspired work, \u017bieme<\/a>, also sparked debate, but this time the scale, setting, and context have taken things further.<\/p>\n

WIE\u0126ED forms part of a wider public art initiative launched through a 2021 open call by the Ministry for Gozo, aimed at bringing contemporary art into public spaces across the island.<\/p>\n

According to project documentation, no new infrastructure or artificial lighting was introduced during installation, in an effort to minimise impact on the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n

But that hasn\u2019t stopped the backlash.<\/p>\n

The project has divided public opinion, particularly given its location within a Natura 2000 site and ODZ area. Authorities and organisations including the Environment and Resources Authority, BirdLife Malta and NGO G\u0127awdix have raised concerns about its placement in a sensitive natural environment.<\/p>\n

Some critics have gone as far as calling the sculpture an \u201ceyesore\u201d.<\/p>\n

Others, particularly within the arts community, have come to its defence, with some describing it as one of the most significant pieces of public art in Malta in recent years.<\/p>\n

The project is publicly funded, with sources confirming to Lovin Malta that the sculpture cost \u20ac209,000 before VAT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The figure has raised many eyebrows while simultaneously reignited a familiar debate: why does spending on art so often spark such strong reactions?<\/p>\n

As for what the sculpture actually represents, that depends on who you ask.<\/p>\n

Some see political symbolism, two forces intertwined, directionless, and heading for the edge.
Others interpret it as a protective, almost mythical creature standing between nature and human intervention.
And others still see something more literal: two horse forms suspended mid-air, viewed from a less-than-flattering angle.<\/p>\n

The artist has said the sculpture reworks traditional monument styles into something both familiar and unsettling, questioning authority and reflecting on the natural world beyond the human.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts form reflects the site\u2019s coastal contour and is in dialogue with the submerged Billighurst Cave,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Whatever your interpretation, and whether you agree with the cost or the placement of the sculpture in a natural setting, one thing is clear.<\/p>\n

WIE\u0126ED has done exactly what public art is often meant to do.<\/p>\n

It has made people stop, look and talk.<\/p>\n

What do you think of the sculpture? She this article with someone who hasn\u2019t yet seen the statue\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new sculpture along Gozo\u2019s coastline is turning heads and dividing opinion. Last week, an abstract, eight-legged horse…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-399875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}