Saint Lucy of Siracuse lives today

This digital painting is my interpretation of Saint Lucy of one of the most fascinating and surrealist stories of the Golden Legend, a book written in the XIII century. Santiago de la Voragine narrates the story of christian saints and martyrs. Saint Lucy was martyred for her religious beliefs. One thousand men with three thousand oxen tried to convict her without success. They tried to burn her but her body didn’t catch fire. Wizards poured boiling urine on her and stuck a sword in her neck but she remained uninjured. She is often portrayed with eyeballs on a tray. Some say she pulled her own ones out for God to give her more beautiful eyes.

My reading about Saint Lucy of Siracuse is a bit more contemporary: this image could perfectly symbolise the backlash and distress many people get from social media. Even if you remove your eyes -meaning, not watching any social feeds, they are ever present and can still get you. Even though we are all interconnected, sometimes one´s voice is not heard. Fire and urine symbolize the psychological martyrdoms that many of us suffer due to an abusing comment or some beliefs we don’t believe.