Revd. Preb Nick Shutt has an unusual take on some of the old masters. He has photographed modern day settings of religious paintings. This gives us a fresh look at an old story and helps to put into a modern context ... read on for a comment from Nick on his art. 

A portfolio of his photos can be seen on his website.

It was the World Cup … do you remember that in 2010? England exit with the usual recriminations about their failure in the National Sport while the whole nation appears to go football crazy. Just before the World Cup I had asked the local village football team Walkhampton FC if I could take their team photo in the style of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. They were up for it and readily agreed to strike the appropriate poses upon my command: the result is a modern day re-take of a classic renaissance painting.

It is also a good team photo … but it is more than that. It asks questions about what is important in our culture today. It invites the viewer to think of football as the new religion which has supplanted Christ. The manager is now the Christ-figure. It goes further – it jars the viewer into thinking about why Christ is not present. As one e-mail I received put it, it provided a talking point for unchurched people to consider the claims of Christ – he thanked me for using this medium to provoke questions about Christ.

It was published in the local regional press in the South West, the Church Times, The Sun (page 33 I believe – not page 3) and online by the BBC website amongst others. It’s now all over the place … it led to local radio interviews and an opportunity to put Christ back in the picture. One or two within the church did not "get it" and thought I had over-stepped the mark, almost as if they believed the Last Supper was conducted by men in renaissance dress all aligned with geometric precision …you can’t win them all.

Nick Shutt is a retired archdeacon in the Church of England.