This piece was inspired by the story of how the late great Andrew Weatherall, came to have the phrase 'Fail We May, Sail We Must' tattooed on his wrists after meeting a young Irish fisherman. I applied that phrase to the structure of Renaissance atlases, with their dual hemisphere layout and allegorical scenes. I created my own representations of the four elements, while also referencing Greek myth, folklore, Romantic poetry, Tarot and contemporary protest movements. This is a print drenched in symbolism!

The original painting was created in 2020. Ever since its first release as screen print its been the most popular print I've ever created. This is the sixth edition, each one has had a different colour scheme to make them distinct. For this version I was inspired by timeless elegance of blue and white porcelain to restrict my palette to just four different shades of blue. The result is a calming classic!