'The Forbidden Room' process

Just wanted to share with you a little insight into the Little White Lies Weekly cover I did recently. The film was Guy Maddin's 'The Forbidden Room', a multi-faceted, dream-like narrative which begins with a stranger inexplicably arriving aboard a submarine then proceeds to go all kinds of bonkers from there....here's the trailer:



So where to start....the brief included a mock-up of one of my collages as a general direction, along with a colour palette. The concept asked for an abstract image with the title in distorted letters. The guys liked the way I layer different textures and use ink/water "accidents" in some of my work. The only mandatory was to include the title in a prominent position within the composition.

I began with text experiments. Lots of text experiments. My favourite was the one using wax resist to create negative lettering with a "cloud" of ink bleeding into the surrounding areas.

I decided to use a circular motif as the centre of the composition, to suggest a portal to different places and times. Once again, more ink experiments...and elements of portraiture in keeping with the iconic LWLies cover aesthetic.

This was a really enjoyable commission, lots of layering of different textures and techniques. Thanks to Laurene Boglio and Timba Smits for the great direction.