Jade Zammit: 'Everything happens for a reason, even when you least expect it'

Artist Jade Zammit tells all in our Q&A

Jade Zammit
Jade Zammit

Jade Zammit has been practising architecture locally for over a decade, but her solo travels in Australia in 2020 marked a turning point. Since then, she has shifted her focus towards a career in the visual arts. Currently, she is preparing for her debut solo exhibition, Paradise Lost, at the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta, taking place from 3 to 24 October 2024.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

Unless I’m heading to the pool to swim, I start my day by making a coffee.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

To stay grounded, irrelevant of your life’s successes.

What do you never leave the house without?

My phone, even if it’s not fully charged.

Pick three words that describe yourself.

Hardworking, loyal, independent.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Pursuing a career in art - something I once thought I’d never do.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Watching Instagram reels until I fall asleep.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Everything happens for a reason, even when you least expect it.

Property and cars aside, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

My laptop.

What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

That time is invaluable, and we can never get it back, so we must make every moment count.

Who’s your inspiration?

I can’t single out one person, but I’ve admired Yayoi Kusama’s work since my days at university.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Making the leap from my architecture career to dedicating most of my time to art.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?

I can’t imagine life without creating, whether it’s buildings or paintings. If not those, I’d work with textiles or wood.

Do you believe in God?

My idea of God has evolved recently, but yes, I believe in a benevolent higher power that provides comfort and peace.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Michelangelo.

What’s your worst habit?

Procrastination.

What are you like when you’re drunk?

My friends joke that my voice becomes extremely high-pitched.

Who would you have play you in a film?

Possibly Daisy Edgar-Jones, because her performance in Normal People was so real and raw - I think she’d do a fantastic job.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

A lack of desire to learn.

What music would you have played at your funeral?

Don’t Cry (It’s Just Goodnight) by Yellow House.

What is your most treasured material possession?

My family’s collection of photographs.

What is your earliest memory?

I can’t distinguish whether it is because I particularly remember or because my memory is informed by photographs, but I would say it is my sister and I playing with our pet duckling in our first home.

When did you last cry, and why?

Sometime after my sister and her family moved abroad last year.

Who would you most like to meet?

I’d currently choose to meet with Ben Okri, an author whose work I got to know in recent years and was the inspiration for my latest body of work.

What’s your favourite food?

Local bread, spread with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Who’s your favourite person on social media right now?

Stephen Ellcock because his profile is an eclectic collection of visually striking and inspiring images.

If you could travel in time, where would you go?

Back to 2020 when I was in Australia, not because I am not happy with where I am right now but because my experience got cut short because of COVID.

What book are you reading right now?

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

The ability to stretch time.

What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Live in a remote, self-sufficient manner, entirely independent of the outside world.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

Yellow House. On repeat.

In the shower or when you’re working out, what do you sing/listen to?

I swim for my workouts, which is more meditative, so no singing for me. I sing while I’m painting.

Arts Council Malta.

This article is supported by Arts Council Malta.