I painted Benedict because he is black, because he was an ante litteram second generation immigrant, because he was born in Sanfratello (ME) in 1527 from a family of African slaves, because his life is a journey of freedom leading him to Holiness. I painted him because he is the image of Palermo, the face of the outcasts, the underdogs, those who would be denied all possibility by many.
This is not a religious painting, rather a political one.
Work financed by CESIE within the Mediterraneo Antirazzista event

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Foto by Sandro Scalia