Artist: Charles Sluga
Medium: Watercolour, Squid ink and liquid charcoal on Arches watercolour paper mounted on high profile stretched canvas
Image size: 116 × 154 cm

Painting Description

This painting, inspired by Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, explores the psychological and symbolic depths of the novel, capturing its complex themes of obsession, fate, and the struggle between man and nature. The white whale, a central figure in the story, became a multifaceted, enigmatic symbol for me—representing death, God, evil, nature, and the relentless pull of destiny.
I integrated hidden text from all 135 chapters of the book to reflect the fractured, obsessive nature of Captain Ahab's pursuit of the whale. To further convey this intensity, I used ripped paper and chaotic paint application, elements that, to me, evoke the tumultuous sea and Ahab’s psychological unravelling.