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Built on Sand – On Malta's Construction Boom
MAY 2026
Marcin Piekałkiewicz (PL/NL)
photography and text:
Marcin Piekałkiewicz
design:
Rob van Hoesel
supported by:
Jaap Harten Fonds
Cultuurfonds
Built on Sand is a research-based photographic project by Marcin Piekałkiewicz (PL/NL), in which he examines the social, environmental, and spatial effects of rapid real estate development in Malta. Inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s ideas, the project looks at how capitalism survives by producing and constantly reshaping space. But economic growth, while often celebrated, comes with significant, hidden, costs.
Piekałkiewicz moved to Malta in 2017 expecting a calm Mediterranean island marked by natural beauty. Instead, he found an environment dominated by construction. Noise, dust, and heavy machinery are everywhere. Cranes, bulldozers, and unfinished buildings now define much of the landscape. This transformation is driven by an aggressive and poorly regulated property market. Media reports and public debates have warned about damaged natural sites, weakened building foundations, and, in extreme cases, fatal accidents. While development promises jobs and financial security, it also brings environmental harm, rising housing costs, labour exploitation, and weak regulatory systems.
Malta’s extreme population density makes these problems worse. More than half a million people live on just 316 square kilometres. Over the past decade, the population has grown rapidly and construction permits have increased. Today, more than a quarter of the island is covered by artificial surfaces. This figure is far above European averages. Agricultural land is increasingly converted into building sites. As a result, land prices have soared, placing enormous pressure on Malta’s limited space.
Limestone plays a key role in this process. It is Malta’s primary natural resource and the foundation of its construction industry. Quarrying has caused serious ecological damage and increased pollution. Life near extraction sites has become more difficult. Meanwhile, tourism presents Malta as an untouched paradise. This image hides the everyday struggles of residents and migrant construction workers, many of whom face unsafe conditions and low wages.
Through photography and research, Built on Sand exposes the fragile foundations beneath Malta’s economic success. The project reveals deep tensions between development, environmental care, social justice, and cultural heritage on an island where space itself is under pressure.
Marcin Piekałkiewicz is a research-based photographer living and working in the Netherlands. Growing up in Poland during the economic transition of the 1990s, he witnessed firsthand the social consequences of neoliberal reforms. This experience sparked a lasting interest in the economic forces that shape everyday life and led him to explore how abstract capitalist systems become visible in material, lived realities. His artistic practice focuses on unpacking the complex structures of neoliberal capitalism, with particular attention to its social and environmental impacts. His work examines how economic power shapes landscapes, built environments, and social conditions, revealing the often-overlooked material consequences of financial and political decision-making. Built on Sand has been exhibited internationally, including at Copeland Gallery in London, IFAC Athina in Athens, and multiple venues in Poland, as well as reaching audiences in Malta. The project has also contributed to public debate through national media coverage and to academic discourse through publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Photographies and Sophia Journal, as well as presentations at international conferences. Piekałkiewicz has an extensive academic background in the socio-economic study of wellbeing and quality of life, with research published in journals including PLOS One and the Journal of Happiness Studies. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Siena and an MA in Documentary Photography from the University of South Wales. This interdisciplinary background allows him to critically connect economic theory with lived human experience, challenging dominant narratives of progress within contemporary capitalism.