Forgotten Heroes 2 – Don Mario – Todi

Occasionally in life, we encounter extraordinary people, either directly or indirectly through stories. People who follow seemingly impossible goals; dedicating their lives to these pursuits above and beyond the realms of so called normal behaviour.

Motivation is a close friend to Obsession  and the transition between the two is not always clear.                                           Don Mario Pericoli wanted to discover
what lay beneath his church, in the medieval city of Todi in Umbria. A question many might ask; what made Don Mario different is that he spent 45 years of his life digging, by hand to discover the answer.

In 2006 I was invited to work as Artist in Residence at the archaeological site at the church. I spent four months collecting data and developing ideas. In Augest 2007 I was invited back to exhibit the completed work.

For me, the image of a man of faith physically digging beneath his church is a very powerful metaphor as though exploring and uncovering his very soul.  It also has echoes of pre Christian stories when the hero would decide to instigate an adventure rather than waiting to be given a task. Throughout global storytelling the idea of travelling beneath and then resurfacing is seen as an important part of the heroes journey;a cycle of death and rebirth

In fact, it is only by partaking in these cycles that the human becomes super human or immortal. Without these journeys  the human is seen to remain undeveloped…… tied to Terra Firma.