The seeds of the idea for
this staged image were planted in Art Miami in December. Da Vinci’s “The Last
Supper” is one of the world’s most recognized paintings and the composition has
been recreated for art many times – there is no originality in the concept of a
new interpretation. In order not to give a hackneyed offering there had to be
creative courage and a fresh set of characters.

Montana was my best chance to
be creative. I know the ghost village of Nevada City well and I knew exactly
where I would shoot. I have worked with Adam – the tame bear – before, he has
been used in many films and commercials over the years and is well looked
after.

Art Students know only too
well that the premise for the gap between Jesus and Mary in Da Vinci’s
masterpiece is the subject of much debate. The consensual view is that it
represents femininity and that Mary’s privileged position on Christ’s right
hand side was critical to the symbolism that pervades the work.

My focus was to get that V
shape as close to Da Vinci’s as possible – not the easiest of briefs given that
Jesus was now a bear. There were other factors to be considered.

For a start, it was -10
degrees that afternoon and then some of the characters on the set were not the
best of friends – a rather feudal rivalry exists between some villages high in
the hills of Montana.

As much as possible, every character had to
take the same pose as in the original and this required quite a bit of
pre-shoot tutoring. Da Vinci’s work is maybe not as famous in Nevada City as it
is in the Vatican City.