Lucia di Lammermoor — Tribute to Maria Callas and Thierry Mugler

Lucia di Lammermoor — Tribute to Maria Callas and Thierry Mugler is part of the Silent Icons series, which reinterprets the visual grammar of Western sacred iconography through contemporary cultural figures from fashion, cinema, and opera. Lucia — heroine of Donizetti's opera — is forced by her brother to marry a man she does not love. In the famous Mad Scene, on her wedding night, she kills her husband and dreams of walking to the altar with her true beloved. It is the ultimate act of a woman crushed by social convention, reclaiming herself through madness and death. Thierry Mugler's feathered gown transforms her into a phoenix rising from the ashes — a woman who, in losing everything, finally becomes free. Maria Callas, who made this role immortal, lends her face and her tragedy to the image. Oil on canvas and silver leaf, 60 × 200 cm.