Descending the rocky slopes to the bottom of the Mosta Quarry in the heart of Malta feels like entering the very core of the creative process behind the Malta Pavilion’s entry to the upcoming London Design Biennale, which kicks off on 5 June at Somerset House.

The theme this year, Surface Reflections, was selected by artistic director Samuel Ross, and it’s within this dramatic landscape that a visionary group of architects, designers, and photographers have laid the groundwork for a project set to reshape Malta’s cultural presence abroad.

As you drive down the steep, dusty trails, a sense of anticipation builds. The rugged terrain opens into a natural amphitheatre that encircles a colossal sphere placed in a quarry alcove, like some sort of prehistoric altar awaiting ritual.

This boulder-like piece is part of Malta’s entry, URNA—a project named after the vessel that holds cremated remains. Conceived by curator and architect Andrew Borg Wirth, architects Anthony Bonnici, Tanil Raif, and Thomas Mifsud, photographer Anne Immelé, filmmaker Stephanie Sant, and art director Matthew Attard Navarro, the exhibition reflects a meditation between Maltese and Mediterranean cultures on death, ritual, and memory.

URNA was commissioned by Arts Council Malta and comprises four components: a monumental sphere at Somerset House, a satellite urn in the quarry, a film shot on location, and a book documenting the project. All of these pieces explore the theme of the end of life and the treatment of mortal remains, filtered through Malta’s traditional background.

A meditation on death

At the core of URNA are the spherical statues, made of sedimentary layers of reconstituted limestone, developed by Halmann Vella, one of Malta’s historic marble factories and sponsor of the exhibition. The artwork encourages viewers to imagine how 128 souls might be contained within these layers, each an equal component of a singular collective structure, without any formal hierarchy, much like the team that created it. Metaphorically, it’s a radical reinterpretation of cremation.

‘It was imperative to me to curate a team and a space of care where the subject is something we propose, but then the outcome, the process, is something we build together, ‘ says curator Andrew Borg Wirth. ‘It has been crucial for everyone to accept the process and each other’s comments.’

Each element of the show explores end-of-life traditions and the handling of mortal remains through Malta’s cultural lens. The film offers a visual meditation on funerary practices, the book traces the development of the exhibition.

A signal of Malta’s artistic renaissance

Malta’s physical and cultural environment is instrumental to the show, especially as southern Mediterranean nations are experiencing an artistic renaissance. Venues like MICAS in Valletta have helped foster young talent, while new institutions, such as Gozo’s upcoming brutalist museum (due to open in 2026 atop a former quarry), signal a growing commitment to preserving and reinterpreting Maltese heritage.

Drawing on the island’s identity—its limestone architecture, layered history, and spiritual spaces—URNA reimagines how local communities might relate to death and memory today.

“[Death is] not something to fear,” says Anthony Bonnici. “It’s something to be acknowledged, even celebrated. People think we’re mad for bringing this to the Biennale. But look at the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, the pyramids, Tibetan rituals—death once held immense complexity. We’ve lost some of that. URNA reclaims it in a constructive, meaningful way.”

Following its showing in London, the URNA collective bring the work full circle with a special in situ event at the Mosta Quarry.

The 5th edition of the London Design Biennale runs from 5-29 June 2025 at Somerset House

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