The photograph Last Supper by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin 1 for her exhibit Ecce Homo has caused controversy among the christian community and in the general public that know of it for its provocative image. The artwork reimagines Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous piece of the same name but Ohlson’s artwork, and exhibit in general, takes issues concerning the Bible and the LGBTQ+ community and incorporates them into her work. The aim of this essay, then, is to show how Last Supper purposely provokes the onlooker by perverting certain canonical christian theological aspects. This essay will achieve this by analysing the three stand out aspects of the photograph; Jesus as a transgendered woman, an S&M fetish wear model, and the apostles as cross-dressers.
When the artwork is first observed …show more content…
She has used subtleties such as the shoes this version of Christ wears to create a conversation about female representation in the Bible and by placing
Christ as a woman it adds to that conversation by making us ask why this version is so unthinkable and uncomfortable.
Aside from Jesus we have this apostle at the very far right donning what seems to be
S&M fetish wear which in itself is considered taboo to display so publicly however, for it to be in the presence of a religious context seems even more so. Here Ohlson is bringing attention towards the Bibles view of sex as it says: “…and they shall be one flesh. 25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.”3
(Genesis 2:24-25). Sex here is stressed by the fact that both participants do not feel shame but there is a slight humiliation aspect within S&M which could mean that
Ohlson is attempting to mock Christianity’s ideas of sex with this character. Also, in
Sadomasochistic sexual practices there are definitely other more dark aspects which go against christian theology especially in the more extreme end of the
When the artwork is first observed …show more content…
She has used subtleties such as the shoes this version of Christ wears to create a conversation about female representation in the Bible and by placing
Christ as a woman it adds to that conversation by making us ask why this version is so unthinkable and uncomfortable.
Aside from Jesus we have this apostle at the very far right donning what seems to be
S&M fetish wear which in itself is considered taboo to display so publicly however, for it to be in the presence of a religious context seems even more so. Here Ohlson is bringing attention towards the Bibles view of sex as it says: “…and they shall be one flesh. 25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.”3
(Genesis 2:24-25). Sex here is stressed by the fact that both participants do not feel shame but there is a slight humiliation aspect within S&M which could mean that
Ohlson is attempting to mock Christianity’s ideas of sex with this character. Also, in
Sadomasochistic sexual practices there are definitely other more dark aspects which go against christian theology especially in the more extreme end of the