Cosmo Sarson’s giant mural, which features Jesus Christ break-dancing, was unveiled in June 2013 in the Stoke’s Croft area of Bristol, opposite Banksy’s iconic ‘Mild Mild West’ piece.
It has now been made available as a collectible edition of 80 hand-finished A1 Giclee prints entitled ‘Breakdancing Jesus – the Salute’, all with hand-applied gold leaf finish, making no two prints the same.
Some see it as inflammatory; yet on the whole, the piece has been well-received”
Inspired by a newspaper cutting of Pope John Paul II enjoying a breakdancing display at the Vatican in 2004, Sarson says the artwork is open to interpretation.
He comments: “Some see it as inflammatory and there was some controversy in Northern Ireland after a photo of it appeared in The Belfast Telegraph. Yet on the whole, the piece has been well-received.”
“There is already a tradition of dancing Jesus”, he adds, “as in Sydney Carter's hymn, 'Lord of the Dance'. The model for this painting is actually a deaf dancer friend of mine who can dance by feeling the rhythm through the floor vibrations.
"I like this fact, as I feel it relates to the miracles Jesus performed: getting the blind to see; the deaf to hear; and the crippled to walk.”