19/12/2025

LYFE FRIDAY | DEC 19, 2025

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Howe poses at La Tour du Fantastique, a new museum in Neuchatel, western Switzerland.

Illustrating medieval times Drawings by Howe on display at La Tour du Fantastique, a nod to Tolkien’s lores.

J OHN Howe, the illustrator who brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe to life is now inviting the world into his mind’s eye by setting up his studio in a medieval prison-turned-museum in Switzerland. The 68-year-old is famed for his interpretation of Tolkien’s literary work, which ultimately saw him serve as a concept artist on film maker Peter Jackson’s movie trilogies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit . A lover of mythology and legends, the internationally acclaimed illustrator has also worked on video games and a television series. The heroic or mysterious figures he draws, such as Gandalf, Treebeard, Saruman or Legolas, often emerge from darkness, bluish shadows, golden glimmers or greenish hues. In the future when he is not working on a film, he will be found at

“It is people who keep us going, after all. We thought we’d offer the public a little glimpse into my mind,” he said, voicing a desire to share his perspective and process. ‘Cascade of images’ The exhibited works represent only a tiny fraction of his output. Whether standing or sitting, “I stay drawing,” the Canada born, naturalised Swiss illustrator said. “At first, it’s a need, then a vocation, a profession and then, little by little, it defines you,” and becomes “a reason for being,” he said. Brought up on a farm near Vancouver, he says this growing

passion has driven him since childhood. At around 12 years old, he discovered Tolkien and his epic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings at the library – though he jokingly regrets having had to start with the second volume, as the first wasn’t available. A few years later, he immersed himself once again into Tolkien’s world, a re-reading that brought forth “a cascade of images” from his pencils because according to Howe, Tolkien is one of those “wonderful authors who offer a plethora of images to the reader”. Howe studied decorative arts in Strasbourg. There, he discovered the French city’s imposing gothic cathedral and spent his days inside it like Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame , thanks to a master key entrusted to him. He was fascinated by gothic buildings – something he had previously only seen in books. “I had never seen a real cathedral. I had never had so much history at my fingertips in this way, it was a kind of an electric shock,” he said. Middle ages ‘fan zone’ Howe, who has become one of the masters of medieval fantasy, is passionate about history, which he considers “an important ingredient” in bringing his imagery to life. His drawings blend historical meticulousness and epic

imagination with a keen sense of architectural and mythological detail, creating an often dark and majestic atmosphere, borrowing from the middle ages. “The middle ages is the world’s biggest fan zone. It’s a territory inhabited, on the one hand, by very serious people – archaeologists, philologists, historians, scientists – and on the other hand, by nomadic artists who wander through it with only one goal: to tell stories,” he said. This self-described “storyteller” is not afraid of a blank page. His characters and landscapes are created with hatching strokes, which he then colours in. “The images are out there in the world, you have to go and find them. It is a bit like when you’re in the mountains, there’s fog everywhere and then suddenly it clears, revealing a magnificent landscape. Drawing is a bit like that,” he said. Howe never tires of Tolkien’s universe and is now working on The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, an Andy Serkis’s film initiative. Howe also does not reject “The Lord of the Rings” label that has stuck to him. Some of the movie series’ monsters, like the Nazgul – spectres riding flying beasts – or the Balrog, a giant infernal creature, were directly based on his illustrations and creativity. This pleases Howe because they now belong to the collective imagination, not just his own. – AFP

o Inside Tolkien’s illustrator mind

his studio in the “Tower of Fantasy”, which opened yesterday in Neuchatel in northwest Switzerland, the lakeside city he now calls home. Around 270 of his works will be exhibited for a year in this new museum, of which he is one of the founders. In the studio – which will remain open after the exhibition closes – visitors will be able to talk with Howe and watch him create: a challenge he does not shy away from.

Art by Howe on display at La Tour du Fantastique, making visitors look twice.

HK group bringing anime-leisure to Dubai DUBAI’S Wafi group has set up a joint venture with Adrian Cheng, the former CEO of Hong Kong developer New World Development, to bring anime-themed entertainment and Chinese brands to the Wafi City complex beginning next year. Anime 11, will roll out pop-ups, exhibitions and introduce a private members’ club for high-net-worth clients across the Middle East and North Africa, the companies said recently. The Wafi City complex includes a mall, hotels, restaurants and residences. Cheng, scion of one of Hong Kong’s richest families, launched investment firm Almad this year to focus on digital assets and emerging markets. Dubai welcomed about 824,000 Chinese visitors in 2024, up 31% from a year prior, according to official data. – Reuters The venture with Cheng’s new investment firm Almad, called Wafi

La Tour du Fantastique, a new museum whose inaugural exhibition is dedicated to Howe. – ALL PICS FROM AFP