The Weight of Blood
2014-15, The weight of blood, Oil on canvas, 2000 x 1400 mm.
The Last Supper painting is a unique tableaux demonstrating the unity and power of (male) friendship, emphasised by the spectre of betrayal. This stimulated me to embark on painting my own version to highlight the power of friendship and the forces released when this trust is betrayed. The project involved recruiting the twelve most significant men whose friendship I had shared at strategic points in my life.
I dressed the subjects in biblical costume to reference the fact that emotions are timeless, unchanged in the modern world (symbolised by subtle clues within the composition). The moment captured is when Christ announces he has been betrayed but the perpetrator is not yet known. It questions the viewer about the value of friendship and whether indeed every man has his price. Further information about the painting is available at www.alastsupper.com
I dressed the subjects in biblical costume to reference the fact that emotions are timeless, unchanged in the modern world (symbolised by subtle clues within the composition). The moment captured is when Christ announces he has been betrayed but the perpetrator is not yet known. It questions the viewer about the value of friendship and whether indeed every man has his price. Further information about the painting is available at www.alastsupper.com
Film on the background of The weight of blood
The painting was subject of a solo exhibition at Westminster Cathedral in 2016,
