20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Lisa Draper
48” x 60”
Mixed Media Assembly
$2999
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
“We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.” ~20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
History
Vingt Mille Lieues Sous les Mers, originally written in French, literally translates to “20,000 Leagues Under the Seas”. It was first published in 1870 to immediate acclaim. It is viewed as one of Jules Verne’s greatest works, and describes what would become the modern submarine with shocking accuracy, as submarines were new and primitive at the time of publication.
20,000 leagues refers to the distance travelled during the narrator’s expedition, nearly twice the circumference of the Earth.
Artist Statement
I know one of the questions I will get about this piece is why there are octopi instead of giant squid. This because the book is unclear on which of these attacked the submarine. In the original French, the word “poulpe” means octopus. In modern English translations, the book is generally translated to “squid”, however I wanted to stick to the original French meaning, though I’m aware that in the end, Jules Verne created his own kind of monster for his novel, and it won’t match up perfectly to any animal in existence.
I love this story of discovery, loneliness, exile, and recognition of madness. Loyalty turned from fierce to fleeting through the deterioration of a leader.
A beautiful, thrilling, informative, and emotionally haunting book; excitement and sorrow echo and create meaning every time I think back on it.