Diavolo 暗黑破壞神

"Mai come quest’anno ho toccato e previsto l’attualità di questi giorni… La regina del cuore, assetata di sangue di altri popoli, strappa il cuore e le risorse per nutrirsi e allargare il suo impero… Uno ad uno calpesta i diritti dell’ umanità e crea scompiglio, e mostra le sue qualità di grande donna capace, parlando ad un esercito immenso di ciechi…

C'è chi pensa a come sfruttare le risorse per sè stesso, chi pensa alla pace, e chi se ne frega...

Never before have I touched and foreseen the current events of these days like this year… The Queen of the Heart, thirsty for the blood of other peoples, tears out the heart and resources to feed herself and expand her empire… One by one she tramples on the rights of humanity and creates havoc, and shows her qualities as a great capable woman, speaking to an immense army of blind people… There are those who think about how to exploit the resources for themselves, those who think about peace, and those who don't care..."

This is one of the most controversial costumes at the Venice Carnevale.

This Carnevale, veteran costumer Gioacchino Sparrone comes as the Evil Queen of Hearts, corrupting the hearts and minds of the world. She represents a demonic force of misuse and embezzlement. Most things, such as hunger and sexual promiscuity, aren't evil on their own. However, through the corruption that Diavolo brings to these concepts, they could potentially grow to be something cruel and hurtful. Here, you can see everything - the freedom hanged, the power that takes every single state, the vital part the heart torn from the weakest!  What matters most is to get the heart to satisfy the lust of strong power!

Gioacchino Sparrone's costumes always have a deeper sense of meaning and always addresses important current issues on what a messy world we can be in. Indeed, the doomsday clock is ticking closer to midnight now, closer than it has ever been before...

The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the estimated likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the nonprofit organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Maintained since 1947, the Clock is a metaphor, not a prediction, for threats to humanity from unchecked scientific and technological advances. That is, the time on the Clock is not to be interpreted as actual time. A hypothetical global catastrophe is represented by midnight on the Clock, with the Bulletin's opinion on how close the world is to one represented by a certain number of minutes or seconds to midnight, which is then assessed in January of each year.

The main factors influencing the Clock are nuclear warfare, climate change, and artificial intelligence. The Clock's original setting in 1947 was 7 minutes to midnight. It has since been set backward 8 times and forward 18 times. The farthest time from midnight was 17 minutes in 1991, and the closest is 89 seconds, set in January 2025...

Over the years, look how much darker and evil the human heart has become!

"“Ci dovremmo vergognare di tutto quel sangue che portiamo nelle nostre coscienze!

We should be ashamed of all that blood we carry in our consciences!”

The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians and an increasing number of foreign costumers now prefer historical costumes or painted faces. During Carnevale, the whole Venice becomes a real life theatrical stage, and many of these historical costumes carry deep perspectives...

More often, the seemingly more modern costumes often carry the deepest and most powerful messages reflecting the current affairs of our world.

As usual, the portraits are just done on the busy streets of Venice and using natural lighting only...