Images of... A black pope: it's a performance art

Remember the famous black pope from a popular song by Pitura Freska in the 1990s? Well, the black pope has arrived, although for now he is only the protagonist of an artistic performance: in the past few hours, in fact, the walls of Rome have been plastered with images of the first African pontiff, Celestine VI. It is street artist Pep Marchegiani who is shouting “Habemus Papam”: with a performance that aims to fit into the tradition of pasquinate, Marchegiani wants to lead the public to a reflection on the current role of the Church in light of the pope’s contribution and echo that he has stepped back.

Posters with the image of Celestine VI have appeared on the famous statue of Pasquino, on the Lungotevere in the presence of the Dome and in various symbolic places in the Eternal City, such as at the foot of Giordano Bruno’s statue in Campo dei Fiori. Marchegiani, is an artist who is no stranger to provocations intended to reflect on the status and role of contemporary art, and this time he sought to bring the first African pope in history to the heart of Christendom. Inspiring him was a dream, later materialized in an effigy, an NFT and a site, E-pray, which will sell sacred objects, authorized by La Santa Sede (trademark being registered), related to the figure of the new pontiff: Celestine VI.

“The idea for the performance comes precisely from a vision, with the spiritual legacy of St. Peter being picked up by Celestine VI, the first pope from the Dar Gum’a area in Sudan,” the artist says in a note. “An African pope, then, with a name that evokes the famous figure of Celestine V, of Dantean memory, the first pontiff to renounce the papal throne. After him, Pope Ratzinger, who recently passed away, resigned.” Celestine VI, like his ideal predecessor represented by the figure of the hermit of the Great Refusal, would be a pope of the poor, of a pure, essential Church, evocative of its earliest forms.

The artist returns to Rome where he has already signed one of his performances, hooding the statues of the Pincio Hill with black plastic bags to denounce the degradation of the capital. His other forays have included the one in Florence, with the installation of a Michelangelo’s David revisited in its features, in the form of a denunciation of the conservatism of art, up to the “putting up for sale” of the Royal Palace of Caserta for its poor use and lack of enhancement.

“The installation is yes provocative but I emphasize that I am not against the Church regardless,” Pep Marchegiani adds. “With this gesture I intend to shake consciences, inviting reflection.” This is not the first time the artist’s career has intersected with the Church, having already paid homage to Pope Francis with the work SuperPope. “Moreover, for me Wojtyla was one of the greatest revolutionaries of the Church.”

Pep Marchegiani, born in 1971, is from Abruzzo. He works particularly in the field of contemporary art and is a fervent advocate of art without masters. In 2021 he signed the painting “Fat boy with no name but a diaper,” which became the world’s first NFT. Celestine VI’s journey, he let it be known, will continue in other cities.

Pep Marchegiani

Pep Marchegiani, Celestine

Pep Marchegiani

Images of... A black pope: it's a performance art

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