A "Blasphemous" Exhibit Opens on Ireland Campus

CORK STUDENT NEWS

"Our Lady" (1992) by Alma Lopez

IRELAND - A ‘blasphemous’ exhibit depicting ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe’ in a floral bikini is to go on show in University College Cork (UCC) tomorrow — and critics have begun attacking the ‘artwork’ before it’s even begun. ‘Our Lady and Other Queer Santas’ is the brainchild of Alma Lopez, a graduate of the University of California at Irvine – a well-known target of criticism from religious Catholic groups, and is being displayed as part of a weekend conference on Hispanic Studies taking place at the university. The exhibit sits very broadly within the context of a larger debate in Irish society about blasphemy itself. A controversial ‘Blasphemy Law’ was passed at the start of this year, and was decried as a retrograde step by many in the Irish media at the time. [link] The display ran June 24 & 25 as part of a conference.