31 Dec 2025
There are new visitors to the Nave of St Albans Cathedral – three colossal sculptures of sperm whales hanging high above the ground as part of a new installation highlighting the mystery and majesty of these ancient mammals.
Following on from recent installations Peace Doves and Museum of the Moon, this new initiative ties in with the Cathedral’s sustainability and environmental commitments, while also highlighting the fragile relationship between man and nature.
The whale sculptures are translucent models of more than five meters in length, shaped from recycled ghost nets, chiffon and repurposed paper, complemented by banners crafted using the sound patterns made from actual whale communication clicks.
They have been created by acclaimed British sculptor and painter Tessa Campbell Fraser using intuition, scientific research and a personal commitment to conservation, and have been touring cathedrals across the UK.
She explained: “I’ve worked with animals all my life, painting them as an artist, and I wanted to have more of an inter-species communication and become more symbiotic with them.
“I discovered through science that the most likely animal we are ever going to have some type of proper communication with is a sperm whale, because they have brains six times bigger than ours, and they’ve got neocortex and spindle cells, which are the really important parts of the brain that deal with compassion and communication and thought.
“There’s an organisation out in Dominica called CETI, who have been been spending six years gathering data on the clicking sound of whales.
“They click in different bands of three clicks, five clicks, seven clicks, and depending on the gap between the clicks, they’re starting to discover that there is a really complex communication going on. They reckon once they’ve got enough data they can drop it into AI and effectively translate it.
“So for me that was my first way into interspecies communication, but also a way of stopping and thinking about the environment, about our footprint on it and how we can be more symbiotic.
“It’s really appropriate they’re travelling around Cathedrals because God sent the whale to save Jonah and become his redemption, and they can also be ours if we actually stop and think about it.”
Having swum with sperm whales in Dominica, she came less than a foot away from a pregnant female: “This eye looks at you and you just feel so insignificant. You realise we’re so anthropomorphic in our views, but that’s just not right.
“Artists communicate through our art and try and engage people to have a dialogue about issues which are important to us, and for me, the planet, climate change and the damage we will potentially do if we aren’t listening was my starting point with this installation.
“I want people to realise we’re not all-powerful, and we need to stop and listen and try to engage more with the world around us. I needed to make a structure which was a solid mass when the light’s on it, but when the light’s behind it then it becomes transparent and ghostly. Because that’s what’s going to happen to the mammals on our planet if we don’t protect and look after them, they’ll become ghosts.”
Dean of St Albans, the Very Rev Jo Kelly-Moore, added: “We are delighted to welcome Tessa Campbell Fraser’s ‘Whales’ to the Cathedral. Suspended within this sacred space, these remarkable sculptures invite us to reflect upon the mystery and majesty of God’s creation beneath the oceans.
“Whether you encounter them in quiet contemplation, during worship, or as part of our programme of events, we hope they will inspire a deeper appreciation of the beauty, vulnerability and interconnectedness of the world entrusted to our care.”
Various events will be taking place in the Nave throughout the period of the installation, which runs until February 4, including yoga sessions, tai chi, baby and toddler musical adventures, silent discos and a sea shanty festival. Find out more at www.stalbanscathedral.org/whales
