Culture is Past Art is Future was a direct response to Malta's treatment and commodification of the 2018 European Capital of Culture title. The body of work was exhibited at Iniala 5 Gallery, Valletta, in January 2018. The acetone prints were later exhibited under the name "Nostalgia is Amnesia" at Valletta Contemporary, Malta. 

The exhibition Culture is Past Art is Future aimed to highlight the current approach towards culture being used as a tool of preservation and conservation, rather than taking a step forward towards an evolved realization of current practices. Art is integrated into culture, but it is also independent; its strength lies in subverting and revealing the underlying, unifying all forms of contemporary art. Painters, installation artists, internet artists, and glitch makers should all aim to present alternatives derived from culture.

There is already enough superficiality going on; art cannot be superficial to survive. Art is independent from culture because it is created by an individual or a small collective on their own. Culture, on the other hand, is a collective effort by people with a common interest—be it financial, religious, or any other common ground that creates a shared cause. Most often, it is not a culture of creating that is being promoted, but one of looking back and, if possible, fossilizing outdated structures and traditions. These are then presented as new ideas, polished up with a cheap and tacky luster that reeks of nostalgia and newly printed banknotes.

Having such a vision pushed forward is problematic, as it establishes a dangerous ideology for future generations to dig into the past rather than shape the future with their art. Culture is not presented as a stepping stone for present and future generations to look forward to, but as an agent of preservation, not provocation.

The exhibition "Culture is Past, Art is Future" existed parallel with the opening of Valletta 2018, the Capital of Culture. The body of work on display consists of paintings and a series of 18 oil pastel drawings, some of which were part of a series exhibited online between May and August 2017.