YOU MAY SAY I’M A DREAMER, BUT I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE

HEAVEN IS A LIBRARY. NEIL GAIMAN CONTINUES TO BE A PILLAR OF FANTASY IN THE ART INDUSTRY, WITH THE RELEASE OF THE SANDMAN SEASON 2 & HIS HONOUR AS THE VISIONARY FOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ART OF ELYSIUM EVENT. Neil Gaiman gives his take on the event’s 25th anniversary of what heaven means to an artist. Every year, the event is brought to life through the chosen visionary’s perception of Utopia - this year the honour was bestowed upon none other than beloved Neil Gaiman. The night demonstrated Gaiman’s flair for imagination, the exploration of humanity and his love of literature. For the acclaimed author, his concept of heaven is a place not only blanketed in knowledge but a place that is a refuge for all those seeking safety and wisdom. A paradise that all can reach, no matter who they are and what monsters they drop off at the pearly white gates. The Art of Elysium stands tall as one of the leading charities whose event illustrates the impact of art in creating social change that heals & connects communities. So who better to lead the troops than captain of the occult, Neil Gaiman? A vision of hope, a master of dreams. At the core of his work, Gaiman encourages us to value our freedom of choice, to face our humanity and to navigate our nightmares. 35 years ago, the first issue of The Sandman was released and since then the 75-issue DC Comics series has been developed into a television phenomenon that was recently announced as being in production for a second season. I spoke to one of the show’s VFX artists, Peyton Klopper, on how she experienced that freedom of choice when crafting the series: “With Sandman it was very fun because the supervisors and client would give us a very loose brief, so they’d pretty much say magic effect in red crystal, and that’s it! And they’d say we’ll leave it up to you, we wanna see what you come up with based on your previous work and that’s such a really cool opportunity because not a lot of people do that and to be told here’s free reign, come up with a couple of ideas”. Details surrounding the announcement of The Sandman’s second season remain tight-lipped but with further episodes confirmed to be released, Neil Gaiman sent out a letter to audiences on social media reigniting the dream-filled desires of fans, highlighting how the biggest fans of The Sandman are the cast & crew themselves. Peyton recalls how when working on Season 1, “it was very daunting, very scary and very exciting all at once. I’m a massive fan of Neil Gaiman and when I joined the company and joined the project, we had a codename for the project, as every film has their codenames and stuff. I saw the codename-- it was called Essex, like the town. I think it was a spinoff character from Sandman that was called Essex and he was his own god of his own”. “So me, the supervisor and our in-house concept artist would sit there and be like what kind of things are we after and how many things can we get done in a day. We’d have a look at some of the references that we could find that would be cool, with kind of having magic swirling inside or little explosions or if it pulses to see if it looks alive”. There’s no doubt that the creatives collaborating with Gaiman share his passion for bringing dreamscapes to life, his ability to explore the impossible and his dream to create heaven on Earth for audiences worldwide. The world of The Sandman continues to evolve in Season 2, journeying into Ancient Greece and revolutionary France, from Destiny’s Garden to Hell. Gaiman reaffirms his ability to take us to places beyond our comprehension in the Netflix series’ second iteration of the comic book classic. With the future of The Sandman on the horizon, Neil Gaiman’s curated library for The Art of Elysium is a beautifully crafted example of how we can transform our dreams into reality. Whether in a garden, a graveyard or a library, Neil Gaiman’s work continuously fights the endangerment of literature, inspiring audiences and artists alike to live out their dreams, to bring their visions to life and to honour our stories within.