2018 | public performance | Sliema, Malta

The Cement Truck Procession was a performative intervention, carried out at sunset on the evening of Sunday 4th November 2018. It was conceived as an acknowledgement of the authority of the construction industry in Malta during this, and previous, decades. It mimicked the format of a protest march, but also that of a religious procession, from which it borrowed the iconographic style of the ‘bandalori’, exhibited during the festa season in Malta

Artist Margerita Pulè led a small group of participants in a slow walk along Tower Road in Sliema; a town that has experienced years of intense construction, and has seen many, many cement trucks pass through its streets. The procession began at the Piazetta where Tower Road meets Qui Si Sana, walked along Tower Road, and up Dingli St. Officers from the Malta Police Force accompanied the procession on motorcycles.

As the procession made its way along the narrow streets, passers-by, and those in traffic travelling in the opposite direction, received small cakes and bread made of cement.

The small company carried along Howard St to the small garden to the side of the Teatru Salesjan. Some cement was poured in the soil, and the procession’s bandalora was placed in the garden.

The procession was, intended as a satirical act; but it also made reference to other instances in history where man preceded vehicle; such as the ‘Tank Man’ of Tiananmen Square, or even those whose job it was to walk in front of early automobiles, to warn pedestrians of their approach. In this case, the Cement Mixer played the role of a battle tank in a military parade; warning all who see it of their impending fate.

Now part of the Malta National Collection, housed at MUŻA.

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Our lives are run by growl of the cement mixer. The builder’s truck welcomes in our mornings, and the chaser accompanies our lunch. Our days are counted by the digger and the crane. Construction vehicles are integral to our everyday lives; and now they would like acknowledgement of this fact. At sunset on the evening of Sunday 4th November 2018, artist Margerita Pulè acknowledged the authority of the Cement Mixer, and led it in a slow walk through along Tower Road in Sliema; a town that has long bent its knee to these construction vehicles.

The procession began at the Piazetta where Tower Road meets Qui Si Sana, walked along Tower Road, and up Dingli St. As the procession made its way along the narrow streets, the audience received small cakes and bread made of cement. At the end of the procession, the small company carried along Howard St to the small garden to the side of the Teatru Salesjan. Some cement was poured, and the procession’s bandalora was placed in the garden.

The procession was, of course, be a satire; but it also made reference to other instances in history where man preceded vehicle; such as the ‘Tank Man’ of Tiananmen Square, or even those whose job it was to walk in front of early automobiles, to warn pedestrians of their approach. The Cement Mixer played the role of a battle tank in a military parade; warning all who see it of their impending fate.

Thanks to Alea for allowing us to play the track Palaces during the ceremony.