Archipelago: An Atlas of Imagined Islands

A new atlas of imaginary islands conjured up by an international gathering of illustrators, including work by Coralie Bickford-Smith, Bill Bragg, Marion Deuchars, Chris Riddell, Maisie Paradise Shearring, Hervé Tullet, Aušra Kiudulaite and more.

Islomania is a recognized affliction. But what is it about islands that is so alluring, and why do so many people find these self-contained worlds completely irresistible? Utopia and Atlantis were islands, and islands have captured the imaginations of writers and artists for centuries. Venetian sailors were the first to make collections of them by drawing maps of those they visited in their isolari – literally the ‘island books’. Then in 1719 Daniel Defoe published his tale of a castaway on a desert island, Robinson Crusoe, one of the first great novels in the history of literature and an instant bestseller. Defoe’s tale combined the real and the imagined and transformed them into a compelling creative landscape, establishing a whole literary genre and unleashing the power of an island for storytelling.

To celebrate the tercentenary of Robinson Crusoe’s publication, a truly international range of leading illustrators imagine they too have been washed up on their own remote island. In a specially created map they visualize what it looks like, what it’s called and what can be found on its mythical shores. In a panoply of astonishingly creative and often surprising responses, we are invited to explore a curious and fabulous archipelago of islands of invention that will beguile illustrators, cartographers and dreamers alike.

Dr Huw Lewis-Jones is a historian of exploration and art director with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Formerly Curator at the National Maritime Museum and the Scott Polar Research Institute, Huw now writes and lectures widely about exploration and the visual arts.

A best-selling author of history and photography books, Huw's titles include 'Arctic', 'Ocean Portraits', 'In Search of the South Pole', 'The Lifeboat', 'Mountain Heroes' - which won Adventure Book of the Year at the World ITB Awards in Germany - and 'The Conquest of Everest', winner of the History Award at the Banff Festival. To date, his books have been published in 16 languages.

Huw continues to work as an international freelance curator, as well as being a historical and heritage consultant across media and broadcasting, most recently for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution charity. His future books include 'The Crossing of Antarctica', ongoing collaboration with celebrated Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson, and republishing rare sketchbooks and original journals of exploration.

Huw also travels to the Arctic and Antarctica each year, working as a historian and polar guide. He is married to the author and photographer Kari Herbert and they live in Cornwall.