Whales are truly majestic creatures, and they captured the imagination of artists from many different walks of life over the years. Ceramic artist Alexandra Vergunova is one of them, and her intricately decorated whale figurines could give Moby Dick a run for his money.
Vergunova goes by @alexa.verg on Instagram, where she attracted 10,000 followers with her life-like whale ceramics. Her fascination with whales isn’t difficult to pin down—after all, these larger-than-life animals have been endangered for so long that many artists tried to immortalize them through their work.
Vergunova is doing just that, capturing the eternal beauty of whales to the smallest detail. Humpback whales seem to be her favorite species since most of her sculptures happen to be inspired by them. They’re extremely popular with whale watchers, but there was a point when these whales were hunted to the brink of extinction, only to recover and face new threats in the modern world.
Whales are obviously Vergunova’s favorite creatures, but her ceramic art isn’t inspired solely by them. She draws inspiration from marine life in general, and we’ve seen her create incredible sculptures shaped like starfish, seahorses, blowfish, corals, and many other life forms inhabiting the ocean.
