Prints & Drawings
Deluvium (from “deluge”) is a large-scale lithograph where myth and reality co-exist in the moments before a great cleanse. Both dark and whimsical, the narrative explores the tension between human belief, civilization, and the enveloping force of nature that can both sustain and destroy.
The work’s origins trace back to 2006, during the Bush Jr. presidency, when Lucena began the first drawing on Denril. Inspired by his earlier drypoint Mermaid Lounge—a surreal New Orleans scene of poverty, mermaids, voodoo, and homage to Hiroshige’s wave—Deluvium expands the narrative to an epic scale. Here, protectors, gods, goddesses, and mythological beings adapt to the best and worst of human behavior, giving rise to new and unexpected heroes.
Frozen in this chaotic panorama, viewers may find Kali, the Hindu goddess, turning her back on humanity in exhaustion as her necklace of skulls unravels across the landscape, mocking human folly. In the dark waters, Nüwa and Fuxi, from Chinese creation myth, flee their failed attempt to remake civilization. These layered references and visual fractures invite the viewer to pause, allowing time to stand still long enough to absorb the work’s density and complexity.
To Purchase a print, please visit SHARK'S INK, publisher of contemporary prints.