Annabel Schoen- Sperm Whale Pod

Water and ink on thick bamboo watercolor paper.

Original 55.5 x 75.5 cm

Print 40 cm x 30 cm

This piece is inspired by Project CETI's work decoding sperm whale communication, and their discovery that whale clicks, called codas, combine into thousands of distinct patterns with structural parallels to human speech. Sperm whales live in clans of up to several thousand individuals, each with its own dialect and a signature coda that acts as a marker of clan identity, passed down matrilineally from mother to calf rather than known from birth.

I was also moved by the footage released this year of a sperm whale birth near Dominica. Scientists spent six hours with the pod, watching a female named Rounder give birth while ten other whales, mostly unrelated females, worked together to lift the newborn to the surface for its first breath. It's the first documented evidence of cooperative birth assistance in a non-primate species.

I painted this pod near the water surface, with light reflecting on their large bodies, to capture that sense of closeness, awe and coordination.

The proceeds will be donated to Dr. Katherine Gura’s fund, who is working on Great Grey owl conservation and research in the Tetons in Jackson, Wyoming. To learn more visit https://give.colostate.edu/campaigns/40250/donations/new?designation_id=091173&

To see more of Annabel's work be sure to follow on Instagram @artbyannabel