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Los Angeles-based photographer and musician Smiles Meyer created The First Gathering, a 2024 photographic recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper featuring trans models. In an interview with Hyperallergic, Meyer described the work as part of an artistic practice shaped by growing up in a conservative Catholic environment and exploring queer and trans identity through religious imagery.
Los Angeles-based photographer and musician Smiles Meyer restaged Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper with trans models in the 2024 photographic series The First Gathering, a project that uses familiar Christian imagery to explore queer and trans identity. Hyperallergic’s feature situates the work within Meyer’s efforts to reckon with a conservative Catholic upbringing through art.
The series recreates the arrangement of da Vinci’s 1495–98 painting, placing a group of trans models around a table. Meyer served as creative director. The credited team included stylist Kaley Azambuja, intimacy coordinator and movement director Scout Nankin, makeup artist @hot_at_the_party, and photo and lighting assistant Betty Connolly. The models were Alena, Teague, Joey, JA, Mia, Jules, Annalise, Kat, Bamby, Mars, Chloe, Zaphir and Lena.
Meyer told Hyperallergic that the project grows from a broader practice of using religious references to address gender identity and religious trauma. The publication describes The First Gathering as part of a wider tradition of queer and trans artists reimagining religious scenes, including work by Swedish photographer Elizabeth Ohlson Wallin. Meyer’s earlier projects include the Mary + I cover and nightclub exorcism photographs made for performance artist Maris.
Meyer began taking photographs in 2018, after first identifying more strongly with writing. They initially cut and rearranged printed photographs into collages, using them to tell stories they felt unable to express in words. The Hyperallergic profile connects that shift to Meyer’s longer creative development; it does not report a new exhibition, release, or public event tied to the series.
Religious Imagery Reframed by Trans Artists
The project places trans people in a composition long associated with a central story of Christianity, changing who is represented within that visual tradition. Meyer’s work is not simply a copy of da Vinci’s painting: as described in the Hyperallergic feature, it uses the reference to consider who is seen as divine and how queer and trans people can claim creative agency.
That approach may carry particular weight for viewers whose relationship to religious imagery is shaped by exclusion or personal conflict. Meyer told Hyperallergic that their own background in a conservative Catholic environment informs the work. The photographs therefore connect a widely recognized religious image with Meyer’s personal history and a broader artistic practice of reinterpreting inherited symbols.
The article also offers readers a view of the collaborative work behind the image. Its credits identify roles in styling, movement, makeup and lighting alongside the models, making clear that the staged scene involved a team rather than the photographer alone. The feature does not claim that the series changes church doctrine or represents the views of all trans people; its significance lies in its artistic perspective and use of religious visual language.
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From Catholic Upbringing to Photography
Meyer grew up in San Diego and, as they told Hyperallergic, first wanted to become a poet. They said they came out as queer at about 18 and later experienced severe depression. Meyer described taking antidepressants as affecting both their sadness and their ability to write, a personal account included in the publication’s profile.
In Meyer’s account, photography became a new way to make images and tell stories. They began taking photographs in 2018 and first transformed prints through collage. The 2024 First Gathering followed earlier projects that also drew on religious motifs. Hyperallergic reports that Meyer has credited philosopher Judith Butler’s writing with influencing their thinking about trans people and the power of creation.
The subject’s reference point, da Vinci’s The Last Supper, was painted between 1495 and 1498. Meyer’s recreation belongs to a history of artists adapting religious imagery, but the feature focuses on Meyer’s specific experience and on the trans models in the staged photograph.
“I was first in love with words.”
— Smiles Meyer, speaking to Hyperallergic
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The Series’ Public Plans Remain Unreported
The available source identifies the work as a 2024 photographic series and profiles Meyer’s intentions, but it does not provide details about where or when The First Gathering was exhibited, whether it will be shown again, or whether additional images are planned. It also does not report responses from religious institutions or audiences, so no broader public reaction can be established from this material.
Meyer’s interpretation of the images is their own, as relayed in an interview; it should not be treated as a statement on behalf of all trans artists or people raised in Catholic settings. The source provides the names of the credited participants and crew but does not include individual comments from the models about taking part.
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No Further Release Is Announced
Hyperallergic’s report does not identify a scheduled exhibition, publication, or other next milestone for The First Gathering. For now, the confirmed development is the feature’s account of Meyer’s 2024 series and the ideas behind it. Any future display plans or related projects have not been specified in the source material.
intimacy coordination for photoshoots
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Key Questions
What is The First Gathering?
The First Gathering is Smiles Meyer’s 2024 photographic recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, staged with trans models.
Who made the series?
Meyer, a Los Angeles-based photographer and musician, was the project’s creative director. The credited team also included stylist Kaley Azambuja, intimacy coordinator and movement director Scout Nankin, makeup artist @hot_at_the_party, photo and lighting assistant Betty Connolly, and 13 models.
Why did Meyer use The Last Supper?
Meyer uses religious imagery to explore queer and trans identity and their own relationship to a conservative Catholic upbringing. In the Hyperallergic interview, they also discussed ideas about divinity and creative power.
Has an exhibition or follow-up project been announced?
The source identifies the series as a 2024 work but does not report an upcoming exhibition, further release, or related project. Future plans are not specified in the available report.
Source: rss
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