Important Notice

The present lot, a photograph by multimedia artist Vivek Vilasini, printed on a canvas of epic proportions, overturns the original image and associations of the ‘Last Supper’ painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the late fifteenth century by transporting it several centuries in the future, to the present context of the war torn Middle East.

In Vilasini’s image, thirteen widows from Gaza dressed in black chadors substitute Jesus Christ and... The present lot, a photograph by multimedia artist Vivek Vilasini, printed on a canvas of epic proportions, overturns the original image and associations of the ‘Last Supper’ painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the late fifteenth century by transporting it several centuries in the future, to the present context of the war torn Middle East.

In Vilasini’s image, thirteen widows from Gaza dressed in black chadors substitute Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles, their eyes fierce and their faces, although partially covered, restless. A strong woman, staring at the viewer with deep conviction, replaces the Jesus Christ and the aura of clam that surrounded him at the center of da Vinci’s 29 foot long mural, that even today, dresses the back wall of the refectory at the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Forsaking da Vinci’s famous perspective enhancing backdrop in favour of a dark, smoky ground, Vilasini focuses viewers’ attention on the thirteen subjects, all victims of the religious violence that traces its roots as far back as the stories of Christ that da Vinci painted.

Vilasini uses his body of work to explore various aspects of identity and tradition, peace and violence, particularly the fluidity, translation and transmission of images across times, cultures and geographies. Through his own translations of well know images like da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ in the present lot, the artist challenges his viewers to reexamine longstanding beliefs and interrelate with ‘the Other’.

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