One week after an exhibition tied to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale closed due to religious protests, the offending painting—"Supper at a Nunnery" by Tom Vattakuzhy—has been withdrawn. The work, shown in the side exhibition “EDAM” organized by the Kochi Biennale Foundation, depicts a naked Mata Hari as Jesus surrounded by nuns as disciples. Since December, Indian Christian organizations had accused the artist of insulting the faith, leading to the exhibition's closure and eventual removal of the painting after a meeting with local officials.
The incident highlights ongoing tensions between artistic freedom and religious sentiment in India, particularly in Kerala, which has the country's largest Christian population. The Kochi Biennale Foundation, which initially defended the work, ultimately deferred to government directives and public sentiment, raising questions about the limits of curatorial independence in politically and religiously sensitive contexts. The case also underscores the vulnerability of biennial platforms to local pressures and the broader global debate over censorship and blasphemy in art.