Scotland in Art: Food - Esther

Sadly, Scotland is not known for its terrific statistics around healthy weight gain & good diet, in fact quite the opposite. We do however manage to have a sense of humour about it. Sometimes this is reflected in the art we make. What is also reflected is the spare & austere diet of the past. An island nation still reliant on a large-scale fishing industry & an all too willing participant in the hunting business – at least if you’re a landowner – our climate (not much sun, plenty of rain, probably cold) doesn’t lend us anything more than simple fruit & vegetables that could quite honestly survive if you planted them on concrete. This has meant that many of our multicultural successes have been in the food industry. Our food isn’t great, so we do one of two things. We either deep-fry it in batter or we import it & the people whose families first brought the better food here are genius at it. Our Indian, Chinese, Italian & increasingly Mexican restaurant & takeaway industries continue to flourish. Aye, our own food might be as bland as beige, but our tastes – much like our attitudes – are often made of spicier stuff. Mind you, as a strict vegetarian of over thirty-five years, some of the art that’s been produced in the name of Scottish food is particularly…distasteful…but that never got in the way of a decent painting.  

Bit flat, this beer… (From Instagram account, 2020), Wattie Cheung (1967-)

Wattie Cheung is perhaps best known for his portraits of international figures & his coverage of major events such as concerts, sporting occasions & news. His Instagram account however is much more about ordinary people & more everyday affairs. As previously mentioned, I’ve poured better beer down the sink than Tennents lager, so this image of a squashed down can really speaks to me. 

Aye & Brew Teaset (2020?), Sarah Kwan (?)

Scotland has truly mastered the dark art of producing horrible drinks. From Sarah Kwan’s East Meets West series which combines Chinese & Scottish cultural icons, this title is a pun on “Irn Bru,” a uniquely Scottish & frankly revolting soft drink. Think fizzy liquid bubblegum. But day-glo orange. Kwan has juxtaposed the “other national drink” with a traditional Chinese tea set. The decoration on the set is inspired by the Chinese double happiness symbol. Designers such as Gillian Kyle also take well-known Scottish food brands & create successful merchandise items from their logos & packaging layouts.

Fish (1946), Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005)

I could have gone specifically for salmon here, but I do like Paolozzi & I particularly like his fish.

The Haggis Feast  (c. 1840), Alexander George Fraser (1786-1865)

Currently housed at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, this sentimental image shows the Burns family gathered round the table for the supper made famous by Rab himself. 

Labourer at Breakfast (1841), Walter Geikie (1795-1837)

As I said, the diet of the past wasn’t as bad as it is today & porridge is now regarded as a “super”food. It’s a Stone Age food. They may not have had antibiotics, but they knew how to eat healthily. Oats are one of those cereals that could clearly grow anywhere (wheat is more picky). We grew up in Scotland knowing many facts about porridge: once upon a time, porridge was salted, made with water - not milk, made in huge quantities, stored in a drawer & sliced up when it was required. It didn’t make us want to eat porridge. Nor did I ever, then or now want to eat oatcakes. Surely the driest food source known to man, it was once joked that the only way to drain Loch Ness would be to chuck in an oatcake (Jack Dee).

Still-life: Dead Game (1677), William Gouw Ferguson (1632/3-after 1695)

Still life paintings of game were much more popular in the Netherlands than here & this is where Gouw Ferguson (though of Scottish heritage) resided. This is an especially lurid image to modern eyes as although I like to say “carnivores will eat anything,” some of the birds in this example are no longer seen as game & would certainly be protected in Scotland.

The Illicit Highland Whisky Still (c. 1829), Edwin Landseer (1802-1873)

We even have a pub in Aberdeen called the Illicit Still. It is known that whisky was being distilled in Scotland as early as 1494 but from 1644, whisky was taxed. This led to illicit stills being utilised across the country. The Highlands area was the most prolific for the production of illegal whisky in the 18th Century.

Langoustine (1995), Jack Knox (1936-2015)

One of the more feeble NE Scotland puns centres around the langoustine. Something like “Three shrimp on a plate, which one’s the most expensive? The langoustine,” ("longest one"). Truly hilarious. Anyway, fish again. We’re surrounded. But it’s a nice, loose treatment of a recognisable creature.

Digging In (2020) & Teacake (2020), Jacki Gordon (1957?-)

Tiny art with tiny people in is the popular subject of books & street art & Jacki Gordon used the idea initially as a lockdown project. I wanted to include her Digging In photograph because I think it works really well, but the Teacake is what really belongs here. The Tunnock’s teacake is another famed Scottish delicacy. Here it’s creatively turned into a mountain to climb – as an aside, every year many hillwalkers have to be rescued by Scotland’s amazing Mountain Rescue Service, so please don’t go out dressed like these guys.

Still Life with Apples & Jar (c. 1912-16), Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935)

It would be thoroughly remiss of me to complete this blog without having visited Mr Peploe’s work. Whether or not these apples are Scottish, still life & indeed painting in this country would not be what it became without him. The other items here hint at more exotic locations, much appreciated by the Scottish Colourists – thus Peploe affords the humble apple a more cosmopolitan quality. As gardens in Scotland become sadly less wild, there seems to be less rhubarb on offer than there was when I was younger…but we’re never short of a bundle of apples.