The Last Supper

The Last Supper March 2010

Twelve guests have been invited to discuss the environment, the global economy, life and death in a house that is balancing dangerously on the edge of a cliff. Artist Kane Cunningham who recently bought a bungalow for £3,000 at Knipe Point in Scarborough North Yorkshire has invited twelve guests to a meal at the house for an event he has called ‘The Last Supper’.

Cunningham said “The house is only feet away from the edge of a cliff and so could collapse at any moment. The aim is invite twelve people to the house to discuss the big issues and the key themes which have emerged over the last decade, to include the environment, the global economy, the credit crunch and the recession”. Cunningham said ‘all the guests know the risks but are still prepared to join me at the house to discuss issues they all feel are important'.

It shows they are all prepared to go to the edge, literally!” Clare Short, MP and former Cabinet member in the Blair Government has agreed to attend the Last Supper. Cunningham said ‘ Clare was at the centre of the Labour Government for many years and so will have a unique perspective on the issues we intend to discuss”. Ms Short was Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 until she resigned from the post in 2003.

Cunningham said “She has remained a politician not afraid to speak her mind on any of the big issues of the day, particularly when it comes to discussions on the invasion of Iraq. So she is certainly a guest worth listening to.” Acclaimed chef James Mackenzie of the Pipe and Glass in South Dalton in East Yorkshire has agreed to be a guest and to cook local produce from fishermen and farmers affected by the recession and the national economy.

Cunningham said, “ I knew James would agree to be a guest and to cook the meal because he is so passionate about local food and a great advocate for local producers. James was excited about creating a menu that would be appropriate for the event and therefore totally unique and creative, as you would expect from a Michelin Star chef”.

Cunningham who has called the house a work of art has also invited Fred Normandale who is a fisherman and President of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations to be a guest. “I have known Fred for many years and so know personally how committed he is in protecting the fishing industry, not just from the recession but also from legislation imposed upon the industry which seems determined to kill it off. Fred is a great advocate and passionate speaker for the rights of fishermen so a very interesting guest I have also invited former vicar and controversial writer GP Taylor to the meal, to offer a moral and philosophical perspective on the issues, which I am sure will ignite the debate.

The Last Supper has many connotations but also a metaphor for life, death and betrayal. Artists over the centuries have explored the meaning and ideas of the Last Supper such as Leononardo Da Vinci, Raphael and Andy Warhol. The House’ is the ‘host’ for the event, for it encapsulates many of our desires, our hopes, dreams and our ambitions. However it also represents many of our failings as a society and so offers itself as a starting point for the discussion, to reflect upon what The House means to the individual guests but also what it means to the wider society across the world.

”However I do not see the Last Supper as a eulogy for the worlds ills, I want it to be a statement of intention, a manifesto for the future which offers positive ideas, dreams and ambitions.” The Last Supper, which is part of the artwork, will be filmed, photographed and painted for an exhibition at Scarborough Art Gallery in 2011.

Kane Cunningham

kane@kanecunningham.co.uk

07948705457

Kane Cunningham

No 10 The Baiting Shed, West Pier,
Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
kane@kanecunningham.co.uk