My father’s quest for adventure means I grew in Italy, Malta, and Canada and of course within each country I experienced different cities and towns. I even spent a month in Lybia in the late 70s. The language I was brought up with was Italian, and then English which I was introduced to in Malta. I left Malta for Italy again when I was about 13. Much to my chagrin now, I was not encouraged to learn Maltese. I believe that moving around so much prompted an interest in languages and cultural differences. Communication was certainly a challenge many a times. I remember a high school boy in Sudbury asking my sister and I if we were mad. Really? Was he asking us if we were crazy? How rude!
I came back to Canada as a teenager. I travelled across Canada with family, and then on my own, and then again with my partner (across Canada and the US several times – we just can’t get enough!). And later on, I also travelled to different countries, more recently Latin America. I took Spanish in college and I think I really liked the language because I’m still trying to learn it as best as I can. I am also intrigued by Arabic and wouldn’t mind learning some Maltese.
Little did I know, that this nomadic upbringing would later inspire me to work with images and language. Seeing, looking, and expressing myself have been life-long occupations and preoccupations. Today, I continue to work within the arts in various forms. I have been living in Vancouver (Canada) since about 1981, and this is the place I call home now.