Alexis Deacon (b.1978, London; lives London) studied illustration at the University of Brighton but has been obsessed with drawing from an early age. Animals have been one of his regular subjects, and he often draws the captive species at London Zoo. Deacon is a celebrated illustrator and writer of books for children: his first work Slow Loris (2002) takes an amusing and touching behind-the-scenes look at a zoo. Beegu (2003), his second book, follows an alien stranded on planet Earth.
Travelling in the Galápagos in late 2009, Deacon closely observed and engaged with his companions both on the boat trip around the Islands and during his stay in Puerto Ayora. He was struck by the unreality of the tourist experience - however pleasurable and fascinating - compared with the more complex and compromised life of the scientific and local inhabitants of the main town of the Galápagos. He chose not to take any photographs during his stay, realising he would lose the immediacy of the experience if he mediated it through photography as every visitor does, almost as a reflex. Instead, Deacon drew constantly. He was also happy to provide practical help, in the form of illustrations for a campaign to promote the use of bicycles and to improve road safety and awareness on the island of Santa Cruz.
Deacon is developing a graphic novel for children as a direct result of his experience of the Galápagos. He has chosen to locate his story in the near-mythical past, telling the tale of a shipwrecked Spanish crew.
