A painting of Jesus has been removed from an art exhibit in Sydney, Australia after complaints that it mocked Jesus Christ. The painting is entitled “Jesus Speaks to the Daughters of Jerusalem,” referring to the scene in Luke 23:28-31, when Jesus turns to the weeping women of Jerusalem as he is bearing his cross and comforts them. It contains a serious, realistic style of some of the onlookers and the cross, but Jesus, Mary, and another onlooker have faces replaced by “Looney Tunes” style characters, as well as a cartoon ghost hovering on the cross and weeping. The painting was created by an artist named Phil James, who goes by Philjames, and was a finalist for the Blake Prize for religious or spiritual art and had appeared at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre for two months.

Christians, however, were not amused by the painting’s irreverent take on one of the most holy scenes in the Christian religion. Charlie Bakhos, founder of the Catholic-led Christian Lives Matter (CLM) took to Facebook to describe his disgust with the painting. “Here we go again another cheap and low attempt at mocking Christianity here in Sydney,” Bakhos wrote. He called it “low quality art.” “Why is it always Christianity and our scared figures/symbols that are the target of such low quality artists. Any other communities, would never face such open mockery yet Christians are suppose[d] to just wear it.” He called on followers to contact Casula Powerhouse with concerns and to be respectful. He also stated he had told the gallery he was planning a protest. According to The Guardian, the gallery received 60 phone calls in a single day protesting the artwork. Philjames stated he’d received over 200 “vile” social media messages. “I do like stirring a bit of a reaction with my work, but the novelty very quickly wore off on Friday. The level of vitriol and the sheer volume of it was actually frightening. I’ve been doing these sorts of works for around 15 years and I’ve had one or two people upset but nothing like this. It was vile and not at all Christian,” he said.

The backlash was so intense that Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun called on the painting to be removed. “The Christian Messiah and the Muslim Messiah Jesus has no connection to the cartoon character Goofy,” he said. Acting Liverpool Council CEO, Jason Breton, announced that the painting would be removed due to safety concerns and community feedback. “Liverpool is one of the most religious LGAs in Sydney. Religious art should be respectful and unifying, not divisive and disrespectful,” he said. Philjames, who stated he had attended Sunday school growing up but was not religious, said the artwork wasn’t meant to make any sort of statement. “I find it all a bit absurd, it was a playful work. I like incorporating cartoon characters – they deal with human issues,” he said. “To be honest, there wasn’t really any meaning behind the piece. It’s just an image – choose your own adventure.