Sometimes I belive that every neighbourhood should have its own Saint Rosalie. She represents something deeply personal to each one of us, each Palermitan. We all very likely attaches our own specific, unique meaning to her. My idea when painting Saint Rosalie in the Sperone neighbourhood is that of a woman refusing stereotypes, someone who lives freely, thinks freely, dresses freely, acts freely within a social environment coercing her into violence, imprisoning her in the cage of a cliché. This dyptic also depicts an arm offering a lily, a symbol of purity and innocence. Such merciful gift to Rosalie represents the integrity our society lacks and is an invitation to reflect on the role of women in contemporary times.
This painting is an invitation to acknowledge, respect and protect everyone’s individual freedom, in particular for women, too often crushed by the schemes imposed by mainstream culture, and more generally for young generations aspiring to live free and unchained.