Che Jesus

Che Jesus is an image depicting Jesus Christ in the style of Jim Fitzpatrick's iconic two-tone portrait of Che Guevara (itself based upon Alberto Korda's iconic Guerrillero Heroico photo).

The controversial image was created by Chas Bayfield and Trevor Webb for the Churches Advertising Network (CAN) in the UK who used it to encourage church attendance for Easter 1999. The poster used the slogan: 'Meek. Mild. As If. Discover the real Jesus. Church. April 4.' 50,000 leaflets were distributed to churches across the UK and posters were put up at bus shelters, train stations and hoardings.

The launch of the Che Jesus image became international news and it later appeared in the 2000 exhibition, Seeing Salvation in London's National Gallery, featured in the Faith Zone in the Millennium Dome and appeared in the 2006 Che Guevara: Revolutionary and Icon exhibition at the V&A Museum.

The image outraged conservative church members and some politicians who condemned the marketing strategy as blasphemous for using a violent Communist and atheist to promote Jesus.

Tory MP Ann Widdecombe, who converted from the Church of England to Roman Catholicism some years previously, said: "We should be modelling ourselves on Christ, not modelling Christ on us."

Former Tory MP Harry Greenway, sponsor of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, described the poster as "grossly sacrilegious" and said those responsible for it should be excommunicated. He threatened to protest to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, in the "strongest possible language".

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Wikipedia