Pelagia_Sara Bonaventura

Описание: Pelagia Is a visual sanctuary dedicated to Mediterranean biodiversity and the profound link between geology, archaeology, and marine life. Blending magical realism with science fiction, the video essay intertwines matriarchal mythologies, geological layering, and aquatic creatures. Its structure is circular, opening and closing with the Sleeping Lady, a prehistoric figurine found in Gozo — symbol of birth, dream, and regeneration. At the center of the narrative is the Pelagia noctiluca jellyfish, observed during diving sessions. Elegant yet fragile, it becomes an emblem of resilience, marine fertility, and a liquid memory resisting extinction. The work draws from the sedimentary geology of Gozo, with visual inspiration taken from fossil-rich landscapes near the Salt Pans and Cathedral Cave. It also pays homage to the polylobed structure of Gozo’s Neolithic temples and the sacred figurines found in nearby hypogea, evoking circularity, duality, and the spiral of time. Through a Maltese poetic voice-over, archival echoes, and layered underwater imagery, Pelagia conjures an ancestral yet contemporary Mediterranean — a place where life, death, and memory flow in perpetual motion. Inspired by Ocean Literacy Principles 2, 5, and 6, the work transforms scientific knowledge into a poetic and immersive experience, where myth and matter, sea and self, are intimately interconnected.

Cinematography and editing: Sara Bonaventura
Script: Sara Bonaventura
Voice over: Antonella Bugeja, Ruth Borg
Sound design: Anna Papaioannou aka Anna VS June
Poem: Maria Grech Ganado
Special thanks: Macarena Marambio, Paula Lopez Sendino
Thanks: Eneko Aspillaga, Martina Farrugia, Sol Archer
Additional research materials by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC)
Shooting locations in Gozo, Malta: Għar ir-Riħ, Għar tal-Qrewis, Reqqa Point, Salt Pans, Wied il-Għasri, Xwejni Bay, Xwejni Rock, Xagħra: Ġgantija archeological park and museum, Victoria, the Citadel: Gozo Nature Museum

Additional Mediterranean locations: Costa Brava (Catalonia, Spain), Limeni (Mani, Greece)

This artwork has been created for the ART4SEA Project [No. 101100074 CREA-CULT-2022-COOP], which is co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe Program (CREA).