The Stones Know

by Olaug Vethal

• Vinyl acrylic on canvas
• 96cm by 96cm stretched
• 100cm by 100cm framed
• c. 1999

In The Stones Know, Olaug Vethal transforms ancient temple stones through dense, overlapping passages of colour. Their physical forms begin to dissolve into colour and gesture yet retain a powerful sense of weight and permanence.

Within Beyond the Visible, these temple stones become more than archaeological remains. Having endured across millennia, they are silent witnesses to lives, rituals and beliefs that can no longer be fully recovered. Vethal’s layers of paint evoke this accumulation of time, suggesting histories held within the material itself.

The Stones Know invites us to consider stone as a vessel of memory, connecting the visible remains of the past with the unseen human presence that once surrounded them. The people are gone; the stones remain.

This work is currently hung at Spazju A, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta until 25th October 2026 as part of the exhibition ‘Beyond The Visible | The Metaphysical Worlds of Olaug Vethal, curated by Christine Xuereb and in collaboration with Christine X Art Gallery