The viperfish by Maik Weidemann

In the fourth image of the 12-part series ‘Heavenly Deep Sea’, we encounter one of the most extreme and fascinating predatory fish of the infinite depths. This work depicts the eerie viperfish, gliding through the starry night like a shimmering constellation. Above it, a slender crescent moon traces its path, whilst it glides weightlessly through the dark cosmos with its jaws wide open. Its dagger-like, transparent fangs protrude menacingly from its mouth. Deep within its maw, a small, concentrated point of light glows – a bioluminescent trap that sparkles like a newborn star in the blackness of space. The message behind the work: In nature, the viperfish symbolises sheer survival under the most extreme conditions on the seabed. Here, nestled within the canopy of the heavens, it becomes a melancholic memory. The message serves as a warning: if humanity’s greed irreversibly exploits and destroys the deep sea, even the most hidden forms of life will cease to exist. In the end, all that remains of this untamed hunter, millions of years old, is a ghostly mirage beneath the stars – a creature we have banished forever from our real world.
On the technique:
This motif utilises the series’ high-contrast mixed media technique to perfection. The infinite blackness of space, the distant star clusters and the delicate banks of clouds were created using deep, dark acrylic paint. The scaleless, shimmering body of the viperfish and its extreme bony structures were shaded in great detail with pencil. The subtle accents of the light-emitting organ in its mouth and the gentle glow around the moon were carefully incorporated using coloured pencils to lend the picture its mystical luminosity.
• Style: Surrealism / Fantastic Art / Ecological Art
• Technique: Mixed media (acrylic background with fine pencil and coloured pencil drawing)
• Mood: Mysterious, ominous, poetic, cautionary