L A P I E T A . (2019) by Marlon Polidano

L A P I E T A . (2019) #loveislove

Credits to Marlon Polidano

Over the past few years, Malta became a pioneer for LGBTIQ+ rights. Heartbreakingly, on the other side of the world there are still people suffering due to their sexual orientation. Countries have been harshly legislating against sodomy and cracking down on LGBTIQ+ rights, at times using barbaric means including hanging, decapitation and stoning. I therefore decided to pay tribute to all these communities and minorities who are not allowed to be who they want to be because they are terrified of the persecution they would face, by creating my own interpretation of ‘Pieta’ to symbolise their unwavering pain and suffering. Meanwhile in Malta suicidal deaths within the gay community is still very high, this is a tribute to the victims and their families. It is difficult to comprehend that even though on this day we commemorate the pain caused to Our Lady of Sorrows by the Romans’ prosecution of her son, we still cause pain on others more than 2,000 years later.