Description

A documentary film by Bigert & Bergström on the history of the practice of allowing prisoners who are about to be executed to have a final meal of their choosing. Comes in a specially designed metal container, accompanied by a 40-page booklet.

The last supper has been given to prisoners facing the death penalty as long as the punishment has existed. The tradition stems from funeral rites where the deceased person was given food on his deathbed to protect him on his journey to the afterlife. Today, the ritual of giving the last supper to the condemned person has been detached from its origin, and can be perceived to be as absurd as the punishment it accompanies. Mats Bigert and Lars Bergström’s film “Last Supper” focuses on this discrepancy between historical “meaning” and contemporary use of a tradition that has lost its connection with the past. The film mixes documentary material with sculptural installations and animated graphics. The main character is the former death row chef Brian Price, who reconstructs one of the 200 final meals that he prepared during his time as inmate in Huntsville State Prison, Texas, US. The film was shot during 2004 in the US, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Kenya, South Africa and Sweden. Bigert and Bergström are two Swedish artists based in Stockholm. They have collaborated since the early 90s and have participated in numerous art exhibitions around the world. Their main focus is complex installations and film projects where urgent social and scientifically questions are examined from unexpected angles.