Osama bin Laden and Jesus

This piece of artwork, depicting Osama bin Laden “morphing” into Jesus is causing quite a stir in Australia. The illustration is three images, one of Osama bin Laden, one of Jesus, and the one in the middle a hybrid of the two. It was created by Priscilla Bracks, an Australian artist, who said she did not intend to be offensive. She claims she wanted to create a discussion on what is and is not religiously acceptable.

Ms. Bracks has said that there are many ways to interpret her work, but most people are mistakenly focusing on the most controversial interpretation: that she is comparing bin Laden and Jesus. She said she questioned whether Jesus could be in a cult-like status similar to bin Laden, while also looking at the comparison between good and evil. She also wanted to highlight how glorified bin Laden is in some areas of the world.

According to her biography, Ms. Bracks practiced law prior to obtaining a degree in photography in 2002. She says that she is “interested in the interplay between human nature, social-justice, law, media, and contemporary social, political and environmental issues,” which explains somewhat her reasoning behind such a controversial piece of art. Her overarching project, called Making the Empire Cross, discusses the relationships in popular ideology, truth, and history.

Personally, I think that Ms. Bracks wanted to attract attention by comparing the most wanted man in the world with a religious figure. It is not a very significant piece of artwork, nor does it use new or revolutionary techniques. In order to gain popularity, she created a more controversial piece of art, and it was a successful maneuver. Created in 2007, this modern piece of art capitalized on the constant man-hunt for Osama bin Laden and the terror his image invokes. This depiction of bin Laden and Jesus attracted interest to her ongoing series, Making the Empire Cross. This work is very different from her usual works, many of which use Barbie, not Jesus.

This image is not directly related to any biblical text. The image of Jesus is a typical depiction in the Western World of Jesus. In the image he is a white man, with a holy aura about him. It is the lack of any biblical significance or parallels in her other works that lead me to believe that this was simply a publicity stunt. There is no clear cultural perspective in Ms. Bracks’ artwork either. Her other works of art are typically commentary on current social issues, but not usually in the same vain as this work.

If one dismisses the possibility that this piece of art was simply a publicity stunt, it is possible that the artist could be addressing how easily cults can form around popular figures. There have been several large Christian cults, and no one can dispute that Osama bin Laden has created a cult-like following. However, even this idea is not clearly depicted in this piece.

This piece of art was entered into a prestigious religious art competition in Australia, despite opposition from the Prime Minister John Howard and his political opposition, Kevin Rudd. (There was also a statue of the Mary wearing a burqa in the competition.) Neither of these controversial pieces won. Instead, a retelling of the Stations of the Cross won the prize.

For more information on this piece of art, please see the following websites:
www.priscillabracks.com

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22332714-953,00.html

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