Pharmakos

This painting aims to make a personal contribution to the theme of violence against women by specifically addressing sexual violence and the conception of the female body as an object that can be sacrificed in the name of pleasure and the desire for power of others. In the painting, a naked female body is lying supine like that of a sacrificial victim without consciousness on the altar of an evil, dark and bloodthirsty deity. The scene is suspended in an underwater setting in which sharp safety pins threaded into shiny pink buttons float: the water muffles the sounds and hides from the eyes what is happening beneath the surface, just as often happens in cases of violence. Shapes, colors and lines would like to suggest an idea of ​​danger and evoke the silent pain of those who believe that there is no way out; there is unconsciousness or resignation in the almost statuesque immobility of the figure. The title refers to the Greek word φαρμακός (cure, remedy), which in ancient times designated an individual destined to be an expiatory victim in a purification ritual that was supposed to (re)bring the benevolence of the gods to the city – the cure, the remedy necessary to restore good fortune for all the other citizens.
Innocent victim, for the selfish benefit of someone else.