Luke Sullivan is an Australian visual artist most notable for his internationally controversial work, The Fourth Secret of Fatima.

Sullivan's practice is considered to be representative of Eclecticism

Eclecticism

Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...

, a European tangent of Postmodernism

Postmodernism

Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...

 that emphasizes the artist's obligation to explore diverse subject matter, mediums and referencing. Since the 1990s, the movement has taken a more critical examination of social, political, religious and corporate institutions, and includes the UK's Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin

Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....

 and America's Tom Sachs

Tom Sachs

Tom Sachs may refer to:*Tom Sachs *Tom Sachs , movie producer, credits include The Lady Vanishes and The Horror of Frankenstein...

.

Since 2000, Sullivan's work has moved from a predominantly constructionist application of found objects and materials, to a more complex exploration of style and medium. Terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

, Religious Symbolism and Iconography, Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...

 and social mores form much of Sullivan's subject matter. Rhythm Method 2007, a work referencing the only form of contraception approved by The Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, was exhibited at London's Royal Academy of Arts in the same year, further building the artist's reputation for irreverent social and religious commentary.

The Fourth Secret of Fatima

In August 2007, Sullivan's work The Fourth Secret of Fatima became the focus of international media attention and is regarded as one the most provocative and controversial works of religious art since Andres Serrano

Andres Serrano

Andres Serrano is an American photographer and artist who has become notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of feces and bodily fluids in his work, notably his controversial work "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported...

's Piss Christ

Piss Christ

Piss Christ is a 1987 photograph by artist and photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine...

. The piece, a statue of the Virgin Mary wearing a burqa

Burqa

A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...

, was intended to draw attention to the oppression of women in dogmatic forms of religion such as Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, but ignited world-wide debate and condemnation in the media. Exhibited with fellow Australian artist Priscilla Brack's incendiary image of Jesus Christ morphing into Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

, the works were reported in over 250 international newspapers as well as broad network coverage including Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

, CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...

. Leading a wave of political and religious condemnation, then Australian Prime Minister John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

 declared the work to be "gratuitously offensive".

In the aftermath to the controversy ABC

ABC Television

ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....

's Virginia Haussegger noted,

"In the tradition of some of the greatest art scandals, Luke Sullivan's work has challenged, provoked and unsettled everyone who has laid eyes on it".

In his 2008 exhibition, Freestyler, Sullivan expanded his oeuvre to include paintings of air disasters and highjackings. His recreation of Flight 175's infamous approach moments before its collision with the World Trade Center

World Trade Center

The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

was explained by the artist as "a painting of an image that had been burnt into my psyche".

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