IR-RAĠEL (The Man), a book written entirely on the walls of a private residence in Naxxar, Malta. The verses on the wall consist of variations on statements about IR-RAĠEL which were originally composed by Glen Calleja and then handwritten on the walls by a number of collaborators.
IR-RAĠEL is a complete book in every respect – with an ISBN number, page numbers, title page, publishing house and author – except one; it is not written on paper or in digital format but on hard immovable stone walls.
The book is therefore not be available for sale on the shelves of bookshops or online shops. The written text itself continues to reflect the impermanence of the physical book in that statements are re-worked and revised on the same page creating endless variation, at times to the point of contradiction.
This process is the author’s confession that the subject is bigger than himself and his beliefs and on the other hand a playful treatment, and comment, on the authority of written assertions. Moreover, Calleja removes himself from the book by delegating the actual writing on the walls to collaborators.
