NO’MOKO JUS’NOW

No’moko Jus’now seemingly depicts a still life in oil; traditionally utilised in the medium as a flaunting of opulence and greed by the upperclass, elites and royals of European society. Scotland too adopted this tradition, and from the late 17th century artists would paint markers of wealth for the aristocracy such as wine, rum, exotic fruits and of course plates of meat, fish and birds. Often the killed creature is on display freshly dead, uncooked and perhaps hanging by its feet as a trophy. 

Above the central point of our scene is an image of Scipio Kennedy (1694-1774) represented as a stained glass window that looks out to sea. Kennedy was born in Guinea, West Africa where he was captured, enslaved and sold to Scottish captain, Andrew Douglas. At the age of six, Douglas brought Kennedy to live at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire where he would remain until his death. Kennedy’s position is symbolic of the artists’ hope of Kennedy’s ascension from the rest of the scene. 

From Kennedy our eyes are drawn downwards to the patch of sea visible through the window, the waves giving way to a stretch of red tablecloth where the disembodied and presumably half devoured head of the scarlet Ibis rests on a plate. The scarlet Ibis, the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, twin islands of the West Indies, are strictly protected by law, yet are poached and consumed illegally as a delicacy at parties thrown by the “elite” class. 

If we look closer, we can see the devoured ibis shares a look with the fish bottle whose body is filled with a thick dark liquid that has been partially decanted into a toppled glass, where the hint of a purplish drop remains. Reflected in the background we see a mysterious figure, appearing as a suited man with the skull head of an Ibis. This man appears to ponder over a long hand-written scroll, we can see the room behind is circular and lit in odd candlelight. 

Back to our display and we have a vase of King Protea flowers obscuring the background figure, framed by the crashing waves outside is a fruit bowl that holds yams, corn, and oranges. On either side of our Ibis head, sit two sets of glasses. On the right, one has toppled, and on the left, one stands but shattered. The imagery points to imbalance, and a breakdown of natural order.