In this remarkable volume, Stephen Ellcock presents a vast treasuryof diverse images from all five kingdoms of nature—from microscopic wonders and interconnected fungi to healing plants and the multitude of miraculous animal species that share our world. Together, illuminating captions, eye-opening essays by experts, and extraordinary images present an optimistic vision of abundance, beauty, and utility—a living world that we have the power to protect.
Since the creation of the earliest rock art nearly 68,000 years ago, humans have sought to depict the living things they encountered. Packed with imagery drawn from every culture and era, Ark reveals the unique importance and beauty of the living things depicted and, in doing so, prompts readers to reevaluate humanity’s place in the natural world.
The book begins with a foreword by award-winning writer Robert Macfarlane on the interconnectedness of nature. An essay by bestselling author Sarah Perry discusses the concept of the ark and the story of the flood. Stephen Ellcock then presents his curation of the myriad forms of life depicted by humanity throughout history, punctuated by insightful quotations, enlightening captions, and symbols marking which of the pictured species are endangered.
Interspersed between the curated images are three essays by celebrated nature writers: Harriet Rix, Helen Scales, and Stephen Moss. Each guides readers through some of the intricate, life-sustaining relationships that populate nature’s elemental realms of earth, water, and air, and the threats of climate change and human action.
Contributors
Stephen Ellcock
Author
Renowned image alchemist Stephen Ellcock is a London-based curator, writer, researcher, and online collector of images who has spent the last decade creating an ever-expanding virtual museum of art that is open to all via social media. His ongoing attempt at creating the ultimate social media “Cabinet of Curiosities” has attracted more than half a million followers. He is also the author of Elements, Underworlds, and The Cosmic Dance.
Robert Macfarlane
Foreword By
Robert Macfarlane is a professor of literature and the environmental humanities at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His writing about landscape, nature, memory, language, and travel has won many prizes internationally, including the E. M. Forster Award for Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2017. His books have been widely adapted for TV, film, and radio and he has collaborated with artists, filmmakers, photographers, and musicians, including Johnny Flynn and Jackie Morris.
Sarah Perry
Introduction By
Sarah Perry is the internationally bestselling author of novels Enlightenment, Melmoth, The Essex Serpent, and After Me Comes the Flood, and the nonfiction Essex Girls. The Essex Serpent was awarded an NPR and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, and, in 2022, was adapted for Apple TV+. She is chancellor of the University of Essex and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Harriet Rix
Contributions By
Harriet Rix is a tree science consultant and author of The Genius of Trees: How Trees Mastered the Elements and Shaped the World, which was recognized as one of the best books of 2025 by The New Yorker. Rix has worked for UK-based national advisory boards that support the conservation of trees, shrubs, and wild plants. Her writing and photography have been published in Financial Times, London Review of Books, and Times Literary Supplement.
Helen Scales
Contributions By
Helen Scales is a marine biologist, broadcaster, and author of many books, including The Shell Spotter’s Guide, What the Wild Sea Can Be, and Spirals in Time, as well as several titles for children, such as Shells… and What They Hide Inside and Oceanopedia. She writes regularly for National Geographic and The Guardian, and is a storytelling ambassador for the Save Our Seas Foundation. Follow her on Instagram @drhelenscales.
Stephen Moss
Contributions By
Stephen Moss is a leading nature writers and broadcaster. He was the original producer of the BAFTA award-winning Springwatch. His bestselling books include a series of “bird biographies” and Ten Birds that Changed the World. A lifelong naturalist, Stephen has traveled to all seven of the world’s continents to watch wildlife.
