Adam Frelin

Pio Fountain

carved wood, plastic piping, pump, water
installation views
2004

As part of an exhibition at Mercer Union in Toronto, I created a fountain for the exterior of their building. Utilizing the head from a carved bust I had purchased in Italy, it depicted Padre Pio: a 20th century Catholic priest who was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paull II in 2002. Known for his stigmatas, Pio believed he was regularly beaten by the devil in his sleep. I mounted the head near the gallery's entrance, adding a carved laceration into its forehead, out of which a stream of water continually flowed onto the sidewalk.