The Whitehaven Whale
June 2022
Digital Drawing
Digital Painting
(Durham University computer hackathon 2018 and 2019)
Artist response to the beaching of a whale at Whitehaven, Cumbria
June 2022
The whale appeared on the pier of Whitehaven docks on Friday, June 11, 2022 – it is believed she became separated from a pod of three, disturbed by sonar.
The map shows the site of the beaching and where it is believed that “Sal*” had travelled.
(*Sal Madge was a woman collier who also has a pub named after her in Whitehaven)
Alex is an “on-call” Ecology Artist, whose role, initially, was to document the whale, and its beaching, as a way of providing a connection between the townspeople who would inevitably gather, and the scientists who were trying to work.
It has been found that people are happier engaging with an artist than to disturb scientists at their work. The artist can act as a conduit, allowing the scientists to work uninterrupted. Work was uploaded in real time to Twitter and Instagram, so that people could follow the event, if they were not nearby. A painting and poem were made as a final record.
You can see the images here, and follow the Twitter thread here.
Send us your images!
Email Alex at alex@ecologyartist.co.uk
Alex’s work for the North Sea Whale Association can be seen at Tullie House and the Beacon Museum.
The poem and pictures are published as a pamphlet, available here.