Valletta’s Bridge Bar is a popular hang-out spot for locals, expats and tourists alike, with its bold red apertures marking the building as something of a landmark for many visitors to Malta’s capital city.
For everyone else, it’s a nice building that is characteristically Maltese, but for local artist Chris Spiteri, who works as a Creative with Turi Animation Studio, the positioning of the windows and balconies evoked something else.
“Snakes and Ladders: Real life edition,” he said, sharing an image showing the building housing the bar and an overlying guesthouse covered in hissing snakes and white ladders.
His colourful creations have also found a home in other Maltese locations.
Just weeks ago, the grand Victoria Lines that cross Northern Malta from East to West doubled up as a volleyball net for two green aliens, flying saucer parked nearby.
Similarly, the salt pans at Xwejni in Gozo were re-imagined as chess board, with monumental chess pieces set up for action.
Mr Spiteri has been sharing his creations for years. Back in 2018, he said: “I’m constantly taking photos with my phone, both for posts or stories. Then I add an alternative reality from my imagination to it as I feel people get more connected to it.
“I got really into character design and started doing snapchat drawing stories just for laughs, eventually I started doing illustrations of photos I take and combine them with imaginative characters and uploading them on Instagram.”
Mr Spiteri is not the only local artist to bring a playful twist to local landmarks.
Last week, Mercury Towers announced a partnership with Zack Ritchie, which will see his statues adorn the open spaces in and around the major St Julian’s development.
Teasing the collaboration, Mr Ritchie shared an image of his Maltese heritage-inspired creations peeking out from behind Malta’s tallest building.
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