In September 2021 a whale was washed up at the end of Stöðvarfjörður fjord. I completed seven one-month art residencies in Iceland, and this was the fourth. Although I had previously found small pieces of whale bone on that beach, and later on Achill Island on Ireland’s west coast, this was the only time I have ever seen a dead whale close up. In the course of the following week the carcass was washed back out to sea by the tides.

The collagraph is a composite image of the ancient volcanic mountains lining the fjord, the dead whale, the huge jawbones dominating Whitby’s North Cliff, and flotsam and jetsam.

The whale is endangered not only by hunters, but also by the tonnes of debris deposited in the oceans, represented here by the accumulations of netting and ropes.

A new bestiary and herbarium for at risk species by artists from Northern Print.

“Endless Forms Most Beautiful” is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to support visits, new printmaking and school’s programme for this project.

Northern Print artists bring together traditional printmaking and the natural world with a series of new prints highlighting the diversity of species that are categorised as ‘at risk’.

The ‘endless forms’ include marine life; plants; birds; insects and mammals with many familiar and much-loved species as well as less known and intriguing creatures that have captured the imagination and hearts of Northern Print’s artists.

This exhibition of 45 new prints has been made following a series of visits to our region’s natural history collections and habitats and represents the tiniest tip of the iceberg of our natural world under threat.

The artwork includes a range of approaches and printmaking processes – including heritage craft skills also deemed at risk including letterpress and mould-made papers