Susan Dorothea White Bibliography

Communion from a Female Perspective

The Australian artist Susan White’s painting has found a new home in the foyer of Augustana University in Neuendettelsau. The large-scale work, The First Supper, which the artist also refers to by its German title Das erste Abendmahl (“The First Supper”), alludes to Leonardo da Vinci’s famous The Last Supper. Twelve women from different parts of the world are seated at the table, with a thirteenth figure at the centre—an Aboriginal Australian woman.

The women represent different cultures, religions and generations. Their clothing, footwear and the food before them reflect their origins and social status. The Judas figure, dressed in jeans and trainers with long blond hair and a can of cola on the table, is intended to symbolise the betrayal of Christian values by Western consumer society.

The painting is now permanently displayed in the foyer of Augustana University, where it can be viewed by students and visitors. The installation was made possible through the efforts of Professor Dr Ulla Mitzdorf, who worked to secure an appropriate permanent home for the work. Susan White said she was relieved that the painting had finally found a place in Neuendettelsau, where Feminist Theology is taught and where, she remarked with humour, “the town even has a railway station.”