I crafted 17 miniature-style illustrations for the book titled The Deluge Ark(ive): A Small Atlas of Vogayes (2017), penned by Australian artist and writer Nigel Helyer. This book delves into the "water" archetype and the Great Flood narrative, both of which hold significant places in the collective memory of humanity. These illustrations found their place in both the book itself and in an exhibition bearing the same title, which took place from November 17th to December 16th, 2017, at the Moonah Arts Centre in Tasmania, Australia.

I meticulously created all of these illustrations using classical miniature techniques, applying gouache paint on mat board measuring 21x30 cm.

"The work is predicated on the story of floods thirteen thousand years ago, when ‘the ice began to melt; the oceans began to rise and the land to flood.’ It is built on maritime mythology as much as on historical memory. Standing in the exhibition space, enveloped by the soft sounds emitting from the six nautical sound sculptures, one feels present, whilst simultaneously absent, elsewhere. One is caught up in the net of the ark, drifting on the sound of the sea.

In addition to the six sound sculptures, seventeen intricate paintings by Turkish artist Öykü Özer (all of which feature in the accompanying novella) are also on display. These pieces are remarkable in their delicate beauty, their fine use of colour and their somewhat melancholy tone.

Özer’s skill in applying line to paper is complementary to Helyer’s skill in shaping wood and sound. The passage of collaboration between the two artists is clear; the threads of narrative between sculpture, image, sound and text are tightly woven, deftly wrought."

"Humans have always told stories. and  the greatest of them have endured to become mythology and religion. They make sense of the world, and are spoken records passed through generations. There are stories of creation and apocalypse. the beginning and the end. cleansing and renewal. 

Nigel Helyer is not afraid ta reach far massive themes. and here, and here, in the Deluge Ark(ive), he explores and examines one of the most primal and universal human myths, the tale of the great flood that covered the earth. 

Helyer is not easy ta pin down; he makes sculpture, but alsa works with sound, and his work seems to combine personal mythology with the tales of the great flood. It includes other ancient tales of sea voyages, such as the siren that lures sailors to their doom with its sweet voice, or the monstrous leviathan that hides in the deepest parts of the ocean. 

Helyer's sculptures are large and expertly constructed. He uses a fan of oars decorated with wax ears ta evoke a powerful moment from Homer's Odyssey when the sirens are encountered, and the sailors block their ears with beeswax ta escape them. The word "ark" is a boat in a net, evoking the ark of Noah, but alsa Gilgamesh, hero of the oldest surviving great work of literature. This work examines the notion of original sin and cleansing, but also balances it with the contrast between the life that was preserved on the ark and the rich diversity of creatures in the ocean. 

Where Helyer really shines is in making complex and vast thematic concerns accessible and engaging. The ideas here rely on our recognition of the primal nature of Helyer's mythology. lf such a thing exists as a collective memory of a time in history when the ice melted and the world was flooded, it is evoked here in a powerful way. 

However, this show is not simply about the distant past. It is timely, for the ice caps are melting again and the waters will rise. 

Helyer's work, like the best art, tricks you: we think the story being told is fıction, but really it is about now. Layer upon layer, idea entwined with idea, this exhibition is essential viewing.