Lord Of The RIngs Artist Premiers Art in Seattle

Roq La Rue Gallery - Jeremy Bennett Exhibit
Friday October 10th, 2008
6:00-9:00pm
2312 2nd Ave
Seattle WA 98121
(206)374-8977
http://www.roqlarue.com

Jeremy Bennett the visual director on Lord of the Rings and King Kong Art will be in attendance for the opening of his art exhibit. Below is a statement about his work.

“For me conceptualizing shots in Mordor was a double edged sword, it was at an intense time in the production schedule and there was no room for error. It was fairly stressful to say the least but It seemed that for every problem that needed solving, wonderfully creative solutions were being offered up by all involved…” The many people that had spent years together helping Peter and Fran craft these films seemed to be running on pure adrenalin and with the finish line in sight the task of destroying a small gold ring was not going to stop us.

I was living on the south coast of Wellington at the harbour entrance and surfing when not at work, I knew the coastline well and enjoyed the balance in past times. Therefore my solution to the pressure cooker was to bring my worlds together and Mordor gave me the opportunity. Every rock and boulder in every matte painting in mordor was found within a mile of my house so to see the shots years later the resonance they bring is sweet. To add to that it seemed that everybody was carrying the weight of Frodo’s quest so it was fitting that our job only became more challenging towards the end. That dark shadow land I think can symbolize every bodies struggle and is one I certainly focus on.

To sit and paint these forms again and contemplate palates or compositions that weren’t used is a nice way to drift back and relive a special time.

Painting I believe should be infused with skill, memory and a desire to share experience, this is my humble attempt to capture those qualities”.