Today's the day the teddy bears have their Last Supper

Mark Banks wipes the final specks of cement off his latest creation, a portrayal in stained glass of the Last Supper in which Jesus and the Disciples are represented as bears.

This type of subversion of the religious imagery traditionally associated with stained glass led one London gallery to reject his work as too controversial when he was looking for a place to exhibit. But for Mr Banks, who has decided to cock a snook at the established art world by staging his own exhibition, it is emblematic of his fresh approach to a centuries-old art form. The bears, recurring figures in his work, appear not just in religious settings, but also in bars and nightclubs, where they drink and smoke.

"I wanted to alter the public conception of stained glass, to take it out of the church context and make it appeal to a wider audience," he says.

In The Last Supper, his largest and most intricate pane, the Disciples lounge around a table wearing expressions that range from piety to boredom. One has his paw stuck in a jar of honey; a second has just spilt his wine. In another window, a Nativity scene is again peopled by bears.

If the work is unusual, then so is Mr Banks's background. Born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare genetic condition resulting in severe facial deformity, he spent most of his childhood and early adulthood in hospitals undergoing surgery to rebuild his features. The disability, he believes, has given him an profound appreciation of natural beauty.

The tapes of rock music that sustained him through the endless rounds of operations also inspired another leitmotif that runs through his art. Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, John Lennon and Bob Marley are among the performers that he has portrayed.

Mr Banks, 32, who works out of two sheds at the bottom of his garden in Chingford, north-east London, had creative leanings as a child but failed his art O-level twice. His enthusiasm was re-ignited by a visit in 1987 to Presley's Gracelands mansion in Memphis, which features a collection of elaborately painted windows. "Something just clicked," he says.

On his return, he set about teaching himself the art and craft of stained glass. The bears theme, he says, occurred to him in a dream in which he visualised two tarty-looking female bears in mini-skirts, stockings and high heels. He reproduced the image in a work he calls Bear Bums.

While the exhibition at Gallery Forty-Seven in July is Mr Banks's first attempt to gain commercial recognition, he has managed to interest a number of celebrities in his art. He has made a window for Uri Geller featuring crystals and bent spoons, and one for Emma Thompson, the actress, which includes an enormous Oscar figurine.

"There's something magical about working with glass," he says. "It's a unique art form."