Gallery Ben Payne

Gallery

TIBETAN POSTER ART

Eighteen year old Ben Payne has never been to Tibet and yet, has managed to create a stunning collection of posters, collages and motifs for Mark Houghton’s travel film, “rhumline” – a journey through China, Mongolia and Tibet.

Soon after meeting at the Ski Club, Mark and Ben discovered common interests in creative imagery. While Mark’s background was with moving images using digital media, Ben’s interest was with creative design and graphic art. Within a week the two had teamed up to initiate a documentary production on the Ski Club’s premiere event, The Extreme Sports Expo which, they plan to complete this coming summer.

It was then that Mark decided to ask Ben to take on the role of graphic artist for his latest production, “rhumline”. “Initially I asked Ben to design a simple DVD cover that could also double as a poster for the film. Two days later he showed me an interpretation of an image I had suggested - similar but oh so different! It was quite dramatic speaking volumes on Tibet’s modern history.”

All through the film, Mark insisted on not touching on political or sensitive areas. He wanted to focus more on the cultural elements and the human-interest stories of travelling in arduous conditions through remote regions of rarely visited destinations.

Ben had produced a dramatic poster of Tibetan stupas set against a fiery blood red sky. Communism, bloodshed and raging battles were all elements that could be interpreted in this striking imagery. “I was impressed with what he had created and was excited about the

prospect of seeing more of his work. However, at the same time I feared I was moving into a side of the story not represented in the actual film.” Mark’s dilemma was, ‘how could he utilize Ben’s work?’

The film had its world premiere in Melbourne and Ben’s dramatic fiery red sky and stupas featured on the front of the invitation. The same image was also a striking feature projected onto the cinema screen while guests entered the cinema on the night of the premiere. When asked what it was like to see you work blown up to such a grand size Ben replied, “It was confronting and exciting displaying my work in a public space. The grandeur of the size made the image even more powerful and alive. “