Street Art in Florence - Poor pigs

The pig is not one of the animals Florentine street artists prefer, but Lokote (this is the author’s signature) offers us an unhappy blue pig with 4 eyes. Why 4 eyes and so much sadness? 4 eyes to cry twice as much? It might be that Lokote is a vegetarian and condemns the bitter fate of these nice animals. This image gives us a great sense of guilt. The blood-red stains on the head sides could support this interpretation. The artwork is repeated identically in various places in the city, with the help of magical stencils and spray can.

The pig has been seen over the centuries in often opposite ways. In ancient times it was sacred, a symbol of fertility and happiness, a bearer of rain that fertilizes the earth for the American Indians, a messenger of the gods for the Etruscans, a symbol of strength and love for the Celts. For the Chinese he was an assistant to the gods, he helped men, he taught them to light fire, to cultivate the land, to organize the world.

But it was also seen sometimes as a symbol of lust and sin, or even an filthy bearer of disease. The farmers, however, have always considered pigs a source of wealth and wellfare. In the German-speaking world even today "having pig" (Schwein haben) means "having luck"! Florence, Via Mafalda di Savoia, via delle Ghiacciaie etc.