James Drake - The Rain of Huitzikopchtli

James Drake

Drake’s “Rain of Huitzilopochtli” consists of large scale charcoal drawings on both canvas and paper executed in an Old Master drawing style. Huitzilopochtli, whose name means “Blue Hummingbird,” was a major deity in Aztec mythology and was a sun god and a god of war, as well as a god of storms. Aztecs offered frequent human sacrifices to their gods, including Huitzilopochtli, to secure rain. Several of the drawings are hauntingly suggestive of the chaos accompanying a great storm. Milagros for Water, Drake’s over life-size drawing that references the religious charms in Mexico that the faithful believe are endowed with spiritual or magical powers for healing and helping restore well-being and balance in lives.