My essentials: Elisabeth Saguna’s cultural picks

About  

As a biomedical scientist, I get to perform diagnostic laboratory, point of care testing/research, diabetes patient education and anything to do with the potential developments to improve the quality of life of our patients. On the other side, I am a visual artist, who has been creating art and painting since the day I saw the light in this world.

Book

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a novel that left a mark in my portfolio due to the strong emotions it creates on the reader. It is full of human nature extremes that evoke a deep relationship with the main characters. There is so much pain in this story, and we know for a fact that the lives of these cultures are truly as depicted in this novel. It brings out the resilience and suffering of Afghan women in their culture and war, from such a tender age and makes one reflect on how cruel life can be.

Film 

I am a fan of docuseries, mostly because they involve true life facts. One that always keeps coming up as my favourite is Secrets Of The Blue Zones which is in four parts. The author Dan Buettner explores the five regions in the world, which host the longest-lived humans and from this exploration what is most striking is that there are common lifestyles that promote longevity. Primarily, the reason is that these people live a more natural way of life. A true inspiration and a must watch!

Internet and TV 

I do not watch much on TV but whenever there is anything related to local talent, I am there ready to be part of it. Whether it is a competition like X-Factor or Muzika Muzika, or something like Master Chef Malta which all bring out newly found talent within the people of our small island. I believe that for the small population we are, we have so much talent in every field, which is why as a Maltese, I am always proud to hear of success achieved by us in the bigger world.

Music 

I Drink Wine by Adele is a song that pulls all my strings, not only for its outstanding musicianship and composition, but also for the true message it conveys on us and our human nature to please the world and how it looks at us, while in the process losing our authenticity. Being our true selves does not always mean people will like us for it, but trying to change to please others does not always mean we become better people at all. So, let’s stop trying to be someone else for the sake of others and be true to ourselves!

Place 

One of my favourite places in Malta is Rabat. It is still very authentic with so much character and charm and is a true inspiration to my art. I often visit and wander the narrow streets full of memories. I capture moments on my camera which I usually turn into paintings. There is so much to savour, whether around the core or around the gardens and Mdina. So many churches that adorn each corner, not to mention the vivid festas that depict what is truly the essence of the Maltese culture.