By: Jos Sances

Medium: Screenprint
Year: 2022
Image Size: 20 x 15 inches
Image Size: 24 x 18 inches
Edition of 18

In Perth, Jos Sances captures a dramatic and symbolic scene drawn from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, depicting the ship’s blacksmith Perth forging a harpoon under the watchful eye of a fierce and stormy sea. Around him, storm-petrels—referred to by sailors as “Mother Carey’s chickens”—swirl ominously through the air, evoking ancient superstitions and maritime lore. At the heart of the composition, a white-hot flame rises from the forge, illuminating the harpoon—an instrument of vengeance that reflects Captain Ahab’s burning obsession.

Ahab’s own words are etched into the lower left of the print:
“Are these thy Mother Carey’s chickens, Perth? always flying in thy wake; birds of good omen, too, but Not to All;—look here, they burn; but thou liv’st among them without a scorch.”
This passage underscores the fatalism and intensity that pervade Melville’s narrative and is masterfully rendered by Sances in this stark, expressive composition.