Featured Image Credit: The Mystery Man Exhibition
Topics: Science, World News, Art
Poppy Bilderbeck
People have been left divided over a hyper-realistic sculpture of Jesus Christ.
On Thursday, 13 October, curator Álvaro Blanco's exhibition, titled The Mystery Man, was opened in the Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.
The exhibition features a life-size replica of 'the most accurate recreation to date of what could have been the face and body of Jesus'.
However, it has caused quite the stir. See the sculpture being unveiled here:
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The exhibition is made up of six different rooms, documenting the artistic and visual presentation of Jesus throughout history, before in the final room it reveals 'the hyperrealistic representation of the Man in the Holy Shroud'.
"It is the culmination of years of painstaking research and creative activity. The sculpture was made to bring the mystery to life through science and innovation," the exhibition's website explains.
Blanco told Rome Reports: "Throughout history, painters have detailed the image of Jesus of Nazareth. For the first time ever, we are going to see this body in human form without the mediation of artists."
The sculpture was based on data collected from the Shroud of Turin, which is 'a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth'.
Some have argued the Shroud of Turin is a fake or hoax. So subsequently, when Blanco first approached the story, he did so 'looking for a scientific, forensic explanation'.
However, he got 'caught up in this whirlwind of history' and questioned what the 'explanation' was of the Shroud.
"And there came a moment when I understood that the most wonderful things in this world have no explanation," Blanco reflected.
After 15 years of scientific studies - which confirmed the cloth did, at some stage, shroud a tortured man - the sculpture of the Mystery Man was made.
The sculpture - which is 5ft 10 and weighs 165.3 lbs - is made out of real human hair alongside silicon and latex.
It also features marks across the body to accurately portray the Flagellation of Christ when Jesus was whipped by Pilate, as well as marks made by Jesus' crucifixion and his crown of thorns.
Blanco said: "I was in front of the image, at least that we all have of Jesus of Nazareth, and I believe that you are going to have the opportunity to feel for the first time in history and in the world, the image and the reflection of his work as it has never been done before without any kind of interpretation, only with his reflection. Only with what he tried to do."
However, not everyone is convinced by this representation of Christ, with some having viewed the sculpture as 'disturbing'.
One said: "This feels so wrong."
"How come Keanu Reeves gets all the best parts?" another joked.
A third commented: "Very very disturbing, this is no reason to do this at all."
A final resolved: "This shameless display is disgusting! Intentions are of no consequence. It is simply scandalous and repulsive!"
The exhibition is set to travel around the world after its debut in Salamanca is over. It's reported as travelling to all five continents.
However, ArtiSplendore CEO Francisco Moya told Pillar Catholic the exhibition is 'not a traveling exhibition, but a pilgrim exhibition'.
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