Photography by Smiles Meyers

For many, The Last Supper is etched into the collective consciousness. For those raised around religion, it often carries a lingering sense of Catholic guilt. Leonardo da Vinci’s mural is loaded with symbolism, tradition and power, a scene that has long centred masculinity.

Now, it has been reimagined.

LA-based trans film photographer Smiles Meyers turns this familiar image on its head in The First Gathering, a radical restaging that places queer and trans bodies at its centre. What began as a creative response to the American government's attempts to silence and erase queer lives soon became something more personal, leading Meyers towards a deeper understanding of their own identity.

Shot on film and rooted in community, the project brings together friends to challenge who is allowed to belong, while confronting the ongoing demonisation of queer existence. As Meyers puts it, “All this political persecution, cultural excommunication and social ostracisation, and yet we still love, we still dance, we still gather together.”

Birthed from both anger and celebration, The First Gathering reclaims a moment historically tied to exclusion and transforms it into one of joy, resistance and connection.

Below, we spoke with the photographer about how their religious trauma shaped this project, queering such an iconic image and reshaping how marginalised communities are seen.