Finnish-Karelian artist Anna Pesonen is presenting a striking new installation at the Malta Biennale 2026, transforming historic military infrastructure at Fort St Elmo into a powerful artistic experience exploring memory, borders and cultural survival.
Titled “Bastion of Refugia”, the large-scale sculptural and sound installation will be on display from 11th March to 29th May as part of the Finnish Pavilion at the international art event.
Set within the historic fortification of Fort St Elmo in Valletta, the work reimagines obsolete military surveillance technology, specifically parabolic sound mirrors once used to detect incoming aircraft, turning them instead into instruments for cultural transmission.
At the heart of the installation is kelkettely, a rare joik-based vocal tradition from Karelia, a border region between Finland and Russia.
The practice was disrupted by displacement, border changes and language suppression during and after the Second World War, a history closely tied to Pesonen’s own family story.
The sound piece was created in collaboration with Finnish-Karelian vocalist and ethnomusicologist Karoliina Kantelinen, alongside music duo Space Afrika.
The sonic element interacts directly with a monumental limestone sculpture carved by Pesonen in collaboration with Maltese stone specialists Halmann Vella.
“The structure no longer listens for the enemy; it carries kelkettely into the landscape,” Pesonen explained.
Using Maltese limestone, a material that has shaped the island’s architecture for thousands of years, the installation reflects on how historical structures and materials continue to shape modern identities and political realities.
Pesonen said Malta’s layered history of fortifications, colonisation and cultural identity made it an ideal setting for the project.
“Malta aligns materially and historically with my practice. The island is built from stone, from prehistoric temples to military fortifications, and sits in a complex post-colonial position,” she said.
The installation unfolds across two locations within Fort St Elmo, creating an acoustic dialogue between spaces.
A vocal call originates from the main sculptural intervention and is answered from Abercrombie’s Bastion, a curved brutalist gun emplacement that becomes part of the work’s acoustic system during live performances.
The project forms part of Pesonen’s broader artistic methodology, which she calls Post-Futurism, a practice that examines the physical remnants of technological progress and systems of power.
Alongside the installation, a public programme will run during the Biennale including live performances, panel discussions, film screenings and talks.
The project is supported by the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland and the Embassy of Finland in Rome.
The Malta Biennale runs from 11th March to 29th May across 11 historic locations in Valletta, Birgu, Xagħra and Gozo’s Ċittadella, featuring a wide range of international artists working across installations, sculpture, performance and multimedia art.
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