Illustration: Alice Pattullo's illustrations tell a whale of a story

The nature of the sea is wild, beguiling, unpredictable but riddled with mystery. So it is no surprise that London based Illustrator Alice Pattullo was so taken by it when creating her magnificent collaborative work Whitby Whaling . We see ancient boats glide across crazed waters, above the vast bodies of whales as corseted women sing to their loves who, aboard ship, strike out at the gentle beasts, applauded for their slaughter. It sounds horrific but there is no gore here, just exquisitely drawn folklore. And we want to know more. Like what happens to the whale?

Alice’s work is pretty spectacular. Creating delicate illustrations transformed by colour and turned into bold prints, she manages to make even superstition desirable, if a little sinister. Her work is as fascinating as the stories she is re-telling. And as she comments, her practice is inspired by “British folk tradition, superstition, 1930s American musicals and celebrity culture,” could it be any better?