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“If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also.”  ― Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

29.7x21

2014

"Li occhi lucenti lacrimando volse"

"Li occhi lucenti lacrimando volse"

29.7x21

2014

Selfportrait as a Cardinal

Selfportrait as a Cardinal
80x100
2013

Cainophobia

Cainophobia

42x60 cm

2013 

Glossophobia

Glossophobia

42x60 cm

2013 

Hypochondria

Hypochondria

42x60 cm

2012

Claustrophobia

Claustrophobia

50x50 cm

2012 

St Stephen

St Stephen

50x50 cm

Giclée print on canvas
2012 

model: Steve Williams

Saint  Stephen  was the first martyr of the New Testament.
The protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Stephen's name is derived from the Greek language Stephanos, meaning "crown". 
Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom.
He is often depicted in art with stones and the martyrs' palm.
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The Martyrs Chronicles

The Martyrs Chronicles
Portraits of Saints and Sinners  

Exhibition runs: 12th - 21st Dec 2012
Location: Gallery & Project Space Great Western Studios

www.greatwesternstudios.com

A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious. In its purest form, martyrdom is a voluntary, conscious, and altruistic readiness to suffer and offer one's life for a cause. The Christian martyr seeks certain death. Islamic tradition gives first place to a soldier dying in a holy war, or jihad, who aimed to defeat an adversary without, necessarily, losing his own life. Jewish tradition assigns the honour not only to those who affirm the faith against threat, but to victims such as those of the Holocaust, who were not given the choice.

Martyrdom is a religio-political act of conflict between social groups. Typically, the weaker of the antagonists produces martyrs.

This series of portraits reinterprets Saints and Martyrs iconography in a modern and sacrilegious view that blends sacred and profane. Where the sado-masochist leads to a new form of martyrdom and the pain is the way to reach the pleasure of the beatification.

Pain, lust, death and salvation are the main themes of these digital portraits.

Further information:

events@greatwesternstudios.com / t. 020 7221 0100

St Lucilla

St Lucilla

50x50 cm

Giclée print on canvas
2012 

model: Medea Teixeira

Saint Lucilla was the daughter of Nemesius, a deacon.Lucilla was blind from her birth, and was taken by her father to be cured and baptized by St. Stephen, the Bishop of Rome. Many others were converted and baptized on account of the miracle. Learning of this deed, Emperor Valerian ordered Nemesius to be imprisoned and Lucilla to be given to a wicked woman, named Maxima. However, after a few days, Nemesius and Lucilla were taken without trial to the temple of Mars in the Via Appia in Rome, and there Lucilla's throat was cut, before her father's eyes.