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One of the most original pieces of desert art I’ve ever seen is Albert Szukalski’s “The Last Supper”, located next to the abandoned town of Rhyolite, NV.

The figures are on a wooden platform and mimic those of Da Vinci’s Last Supper. It appears that he had the models pose while covered in blankets, and then coated those blankets in some sort of fiberglass.

Although the figures are supposed to be Jesus’ Disciples, they frankly remind me more of the Nazgul and in the right light can be truly creepy.

Parking is available at 36 53 42.02 N / 116 49 50.51 W. The piece itself is a few feet away at 36 53 40.02 N / 116 49 50.87 W.

If you want to climb up on the platform to get the best shot that’s your call. But it’s a seriously rickety platform, so use extreme caution.

I took some shots from the side with a very shallow DOF and was pleased by the way the subject popped against the other Nazgul and desert background. In some poses they actually seemed to be staring back at me. And there’s plenty of texture on those fiberglass blankets to capture.

You could also go panoramic and really make the desert part of the photo to emphasis the desolation. I saw another photographer had brought a ladder and gotten a much better relationship between the row of figures and the row of mountains in the background.

On the night I was there the sun was going down directly behind the display for some pretty spectacular effects. But as always check Photo Pills to see where the sun and moon will be rising and setting that day.