Oran Gutan at The Booth Museum

In the summer of 2016, I visited the Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton with my friends, Scarlett and Jake. We’re all passionate about art, and during that visit I sat on the carpet, pen in hand, sketching the skull of a baby orangutan and the head of a hippopotamus.

Back in the studio, as I inked these drawings, I wondered how to bring a playful twist to them. I began imagining the exhibits after hours, left alone in the museum through the long nights. In my mind, the baby orangutan stirred to life, roaming the galleries and playing with a toy model of the museum itself.

The final piece became an enchanted vision: the skeletal figure of a baby orangutan clutching a miniature Booth Museum in its bony hand. For me, it echoes both the curiosity of Victorian scientists seeking answers in the natural world and the era’s fascination with phantasmagoria—the eerie pastime of probing the supernatural.

Print details

To create this print, I start by crafting individual drawings in ink, which collectively form a collage comprising the final piece. I scan my drawings and digitally add colour. The original design solely exists in digital format, and I print it using archival inks and paper. I then release my design as a limited edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 cm x 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 x 29.7 cm).