“We will not yield to any kind of threat”: Casa de la Cultura del Azuay defends the work of the artist Eduardo Moscoso, considered blasphemous

to withdraw religious figures in reimagined sceneshave labeled users of social networks and Christian groups “blasphemous” to the last exhibition of the artist from Morón Edward Moscoso.

The artist’s exhibition is titled until Saturday 4 March The temple of Arutam was open to the public in the Efraín People’s Hall of the House of Ecuadorian culture, Nucleus of Azuayin Cuenca. The concept of the exhibition, including paintings and sculptures, was to show depictions of characters who reimagined the Catholic and Shuar religion.

Among those images were a few Jesus Christs; one on the cross without his traditional cloak tucked under his belly and showing his genitals; the other poses with the broken cross on one of his knees, stepping on a group of skulls.

The sample ensured that some of the people and groups approaching the exhibition site added their support and congratulations, others their emphatic rejection. One such group is Tradition and Action Ecuador, a Catholic-inspired civic association, according to information on its Twitter account (@tyc_ec).

There were also several reactions against the figures on Instagram. “That is not an art or cultural expression, it is a mockery and an insult to the faith of the people who believe. If it’s offensive, it’s no longer ‘art’,” said one user.

For its part, the management of the CCE Azuay shared an official statement from their profiles on social networks, expressing their support for the production of Moscoso, at the same time clarifying that they had not received any proposal for dialogue or formal complaint.

“The spaces of the institution are open to various cultural and artistic manifestations, bearing in mind that the Constitution of the Republic enshrines the right of people to disseminate their own cultural expressions,” the entity said in the letter.

In addition, he clarified that management “will not yield to any kind of threat,” adding that “we reject acts that discriminate against, belittle or exclude people from exercising their cultural rights.”

Moscoso, a renowned sculptor who graduated from the Remigio Crespo Toral School of Arts at the University of Cuenca, attended a tour of the exhibit, as documented in an Instagram post by CCE Azuay. During the visit, the sculptor explained the nature of his recent work.