Extraordinary Renditions
is an exhibition of art work that takes the form of the Stations of the Cross, Christianity's fourteen-step passion play depicting the torture and death of Jesus Christ.

By exploring the suffering of Christ and the details of his treatment at the hands of an Imperial Rome, we as artists and citizens hope to draw parallels to current events and raise questions about our nation's professed moral beliefs.

The exhibition was first shown in Madison, Wisconsin, in the fall of 2009.

For information regarding this exhibit please contact: Mike Konopacki or Colm McCarthy

DOWNLOAD EXHIBITION CATALOG (PDF)

Mike Konopacki and Mike Duffy discuss the exhibit with Stu Levitan of 92.1 FM radio
LISTEN TO the PODCAST

 THE EXHIBIT ONLINE

The term "extraordinary rendition" was made famous by the Dick Cheney gang. "Enhanced techniques" is a polite way of saying torture.

Since 9/11, the US empire has been embroiled in a “War on Terror” against Islamic fundamentalism. All sides in this “war” have used religious justification for the most heinous of crimes: mass killings of innocent civilians, torture of detainees, and summary executions. Fundamentalists of the three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — have rejected traditions of peace to wage “jihad” and “just war.” As citizen artists in an empire, we feel compelled to protest our government’s criminality and the failure of major religious, medical, and legal associations to speak out against these atrocities.

Decisions to torture detainees to elicit information came directly from George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the Department of Justice. Lawyers from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel provided memos rationalizing the use of torture. As a result, both the guilty and innocent suffered brutality and even death.

The Obama Administration has declared some “enhanced interrogation techniques,” such as waterboarding, to be torture but have offered a timid response to investigation and prosecution. The Convention Against Torture, ratified by the United States in 1994, has been ignored as if it were merely a political question rather than a legal mandate to be enforced.

The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted a recent survey on religious attitudes toward torture and found: (1) those most opposed to torture tend to be mainline Protestants or the non-religious; and (2) a majority of Evangelical Christians and Catholics believe that torture can be justified. Why do those who lay claim to a moral superiority tolerate such immoral acts?