The Paris Olympics and the Last Supper

The Paris Olympics 2024 began with a bang, a rather controversial one. The fashion capital of the world, famed for its patronage of the arts and culture, has failed dismally at its attempt at wokeism, a rather crude one at that.

We seem to be living at a time when all that is sacred must be profaned, all that is factual must be obfuscated, and all that is the truth must be desecrated.

Ever wonder why art has become banal and even downright ugly? This modern take on art, which emerges from the self – the hedonistic I, me and myself – proclaims the artist needs to be true to himself/herself. It is a glimpse into the individualism we have embraced while seeking to showcase our purported virtue.

The demise of civilisation is well-noted in the degradation of language, art and culture. And, we witness it in spades, people 'being true to themselves'.

This proclivity towards 'my truth', instead of the truth, leads to the proliferation of lies, to the end that nobody knows any longer the difference between the truth and a lie.

When people talk about inclusivity and leave out everybody else other than the particular people they wanted to include, makes me question whether anything worthwhile has been achieved here at all.

I cannot imagine the Paris Olympics organisers sought any real inclusivity. The real aim was to shock and scandalise. From the descriptions of this 'Last Supper', it appears there should have been PG rating warning given beforehand.

Philippe Katerine, who played Dionysus, the god of fertility (later god of wine and pleasure) had his modesty protected by leaves and fruit, however, with not much left to the imagination.

That the Paris Olympics 2024 artistic director, Thomas Jolly, declared this was a way of portraying France’s freedom of expression is laughable. This is the same country that forbade any religious symbolism in public schools in 2004. What happened to the essential need for inclusivity then?

While Thomas Jolly defended the artistic decision, saying that the tableau vivant (living panting), titled 'Festivity', was a depiction of the gods of Olympus feasting, Dutch art historian, Walther Schoonenberg, has said he had no doubt that the scene in the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 was based off 'The Feast of the Gods', painted by Jan van Bijlert (1635-1640).

The Magnin Museum, which brought this to light on X (formerly twitter), did admit that there were similarities between Leonardo da Vinci’s 'The Last Supper' and Jan van Bijlert’s 'The Feast of the Gods'.

The explanation was that 'The Feast of the Gods' did seek to represent 'The Last Supper', but did so under the guise of a scene of feasting mythological gods, to avoid antagonising those that adhered to the principles of the Reformation, a time in Christian history when Catholic art was decried and even destroyed as a source of idol worship.

There isn’t a shadow of a doubt in my mind as to whether or not the 2024 Paris Olympics tableau was an objective attempt at deriding the Christian 'Last Supper'.

French drag queen and rapper, Piche, through his statement to the French media, and Barbara Butch, who portrayed Jesus, through her now deleted Instagram post, made it evident that the tableau was indeed a parody of 'The Last Supper'.

A Paris 2024 Olympics spokesperson admitted the same as well, defending the choice saying it hadn’t been the first time it had been done.

We live in a warped world, where gender and sexuality have decidedly become the only way we can identify ourselves. Apparently, there isn’t anything else to our human selves, our human identity.

This was an attempt to mock the Christian God who declares that all men are made in His image, plain and simple.

The Paris Olympics organising committee has apologised in the wake of the uproar from Catholics, other Christian and faith groups, but it rings hollow. Surely they knew what would follow this grotesque excuse for artistic expression.

France, once a deeply Catholic country, has departed from her roots. If there was something that could evoke feminine strength in line with today’s cry for equality and inclusivity, it is a representation of the country’s brave patroness, St Joan of Arc.

She, who wore an armour, who marched against the English soldiers to save her country, died a horrific death as a martyr. But, why would they choose to exult that which relates to humility and modesty?

The Vatican leaves us with a reaction that many of us have experienced – sadness at this outrageous display. Freedom of expression is important, but not at the cost of respect for others.