Blasphemous Artwork Removed Following Objections by Syro-Malabar Church

A painting that visually resembled The Last Supper was displayed in mid-December 2025 at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kochi, India. Following protests by Christian groups, the artwork was taken down in recent days.

Organisers stated the removal was to prevent escalation and maintain public order.

The artwork was created by Kerala-based blasphemer Tom Vattakuzhy. He depicted a female central figure with an exposed upper body placed in the position traditionally associated with Jesus Christ. The surrounding figures appear to resemble Catholic religious.

The Syro-Malabar Church criticised the artwork as blasphemous and offensive to Christian faith. Church representatives stated that the painting constituted a distortion of a sacred Christian symbol.

Church representatives also pointed out that the same image had drawn objections earlier as it was already published in December 2016 in the Malayalam literary magazine Bhashaposhini. Already back then, the image was withdrawn from circulation after Christian protests.

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