Nantucket's Last Supper

Nantucket, Massachusetts - 2022

STANDARD: 52” x 52” -  Edition of 12.
LARGE: 71” x 71” -  Edition of 12.

I struggle to think of an island in the world where one colour enjoys such a
monopoly of the building exteriors as grey does in Nantucket. White enjoys a
healthy control of the facades of Greek islands such as Mykonos and Santorini, but
there is no such thing as a Greek White in decorators’ colour palettes, whereas there
is most certainly a Nantucket Grey described as “a stylish gray-green reminiscent of
fog settling over grassy fields.”

During our time on Nantucket, I scouted for a building that could proudly
showcase not just this colour, but also Nantucket’s distinct architectural design.
Happily, this was not a challenging quest as the oldest building on the island - The
Old House - built in 1680, ticks both boxes. The island's English population at the
time totalled just several hundred, and the native Wampanoag outnumbered them
by at least three to one. In 2022 this historic building had clear potential as a
contextual backdrop; I just needed a foreground narrative.

We have shot “Last Supper” stories in Montana and Texas and this seemed as good
an opportunity as any to continue this series, albeit on this occasion, I felt obliged to
introduce a maritime vibe. To me Nantucket is about the storied past not the
present and the island has no shortage of Salty Dog characters to pick up on the
streets and dress accordingly.

The central figure in the piece - a female mastiff called Cash - was more than willing
to take a pipe in her mouth, so long as there was a bit of bread on the end of it. It
was not an easy ask for her handler but all we needed was one second and then to
hope that the human talent was all on point and remembering their pose from the
Da Vinci’s painting. ~ David Yarrow