The Story of the Whales of Peace

The Whales of Peace series is dedicated to blue whales, the greatest creatures in the animal kingdom. Once slaughtered, today they try to stay on the alive side of life. The blues are the largest animals known to have ever existed. They reach a maximum length of 30 metres. Until the mid-19th century blue whales were difficult to hunt. Their size and speed guaranteed them relative safety. The progress of industry helped to develop cruel and savage weapons - harpoons working as projectiles. The first half of the 20th century witnessed the massacre of around 300 000 blue whales. The rise of industrial power led to millions of casualties during both world wars as well as to the industrial extermination of hundreds of thousands of whales around the globe.

The progress of industry, once hailed as the leading factor in making human life easier and more comfortable, has shown its sinister side. Mass produced weapons served to make the destruction of living creatures more effective and faster. Its impact on the nature also became obvious. Wars inflicted on the humans by humans did not stop. The case was has been a little more different for the blues. Since 1939 blue whales were given protection in : Southern Hemisphere (1939), North Atlantic (1955), Antarctic (1965) and the North Pacific (1966).

The striking connection between mass produced weapons inflicted on humans and harpoons-projectiles used to exterminate whales gave me an idea to nickname blue whales the Whales of Peace. The blues, certainly one of the most iconic symbols of our planet slowly come back from the abyss of death. Their story is a sad reminder of how limited is the human race in existing in peace and toleration towards other creatures. It also proves how much can be done when humans restrain their instinct to kill and destroy.

The Whales of Peace is a series of life-sized paintings representing blue whales. All pictures are acrylics on canvas. The first one I painted in 2003 in Nowa Ruda, Poland. The story told in the photos in this gallery shows the inspiration I draw from the blues, the help I receive from my friends and my family in my efforts to photograph and show the Whales of Peace. Without their generous support I could not do it. Ania Grabowska, a huge thank to you.

I would like to express my special thanks to Olga Tokarczuk for her enthusiastic support in storing and exhibiting the Whales of Peace. It came to fruition in July 2022 in Sarny Castle, Poland. The organisational skills of Magdalena Mielnicka from Olga Tokarczuk Foundation helped us to show the whales in the castle, whose owner, Mr. Martin Sobczyk welcomed the idea to store and exhibit the pictures.