Unlocking the majesty of Zak Ové’s Moko Jumbie

British-Trinidadian artist Zak Ové describes Moko Jumbie on view in Galleria Italia at the AGO 


Zak Ové with his work

Zak Ové with his work, Moko Jumbie, 2021. Art Gallery of Ontario. Artwork © Zak Ové. Photo: Craig Boyko © AGO.

Zak Ové’s Moko Jumbie (2021) is an awe-inspiring 18-foot-tall mystical figure and the focal point of the east wing of Galleria Italia on Level 2 at the AGO. In this video for Foyer, Ové describes this Moko Jumbie in detail. He speaks about the meaning behind the sculpture and how it connects with Carnival, Trinidad, and the African Diaspora. 

In early 2024, the British-Trinidadian artist visited the AGO and Toronto for the first time to see his work installed and share his thoughts about it in a talk with Julie Crooks, AGO Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora. Ové’s sculpture was commissioned by the AGO in 2021 and first installed in Walker Court as part of the exhibition Fragments of Epic Memory before moving to its new home on Level 2 of the AGO in Galleria Italia. Mounted atop towering bamboo stilts, Moko Jumbie’s intricate details and materiality are captivating. The figure stands mid-stride in a symbolic formation – one hand clenched in an iconic Black Power fist, the other outstretched with an exposed palm (possibly referencing the well-known BLM chant/ hand gesture “Hands up, don’t shoot”). It is adorned with jewellery and accessories referencing tribal aesthetics from various African regions, including bracelets of the Venda Peoples of South Africa and neck rings worn by the Ndebele Tribe, also of South Africa. Finally, it is surrounded by a grand plume of teal and gold banana leaves, resembling an angelic wingspan. 

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Zak Ové. Moko Jumbie, 2021.

Zak Ové. Moko Jumbie, 2021. Mixed media, Overall: 560 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Commission, with funds from David W. Binet and Ray & Georgina Williams, 2021. © Zak Ové. 2021/70.

Detail view, Zak Ové. Moko Jumbie, 2021 on view in Galleria Italia

Zak Ové. Moko Jumbie, 2021. Mixed media, Overall: 560 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Commission, with funds from David W. Binet and Ray & Georgina Williams, 2021. © Zak Ové. 2021/70.

Make sure to visit Zak Ové’s Moko Jumbie the next time you’re at the AGO. It’s on view in Galleria Italia on Level 2.  

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