The initial prints in this collection are extraordinarily beautiful natural-history illustrations of the 19th century. This was the age of Darwin, exploration and rapidly changing ideas about the natural world, and it left behind an enormous visual record of animals from every corner of the planet.

The problem I found with a lot of the original illustrations were the backgrounds. You can find an exquisitely drawn bird standing next to a piece of fugly scrubland or next to a sick-looking tree. With those pieces, I have stripped everything else away and placed the animal against a simple sage background. The idea is to let the original illustration breathe and put the animal firmly back at the centre of the picture. Other works need almost nothing. The Arctic fox illustration was perfect as it was.

There isn't a rigid formula for Animalia. A sleeping cat can exist next to its stylised tiger cousin as well as a beady-eyed badass ostrich. Scientific accuracy isn't a requirement, but personality is. I love them to have their own clear personality. Personality goes a long way.

Kevin Baxter
London
August 2026