The ghola, Hayt: A being reconstructed from the dead flesh of the original man whose appearance “positively melts the female psyche,” a Tleilaxu thing who is both man and mask, bearer of gleaming metal eyes, a Mentat, a Zensunni philosopher, a swordmaster — a complex character, indeed. Truth be told, I did swoon a few times while painting this, though thankfully my psyche remains intact. • Created for the illustrated edition of Dune: Messiah from The Folio Society
Thrilled to share that Dune: Messiah by Frank Herbert is now available as part of The Christmas Collection from The Folio Society! It was a dream creating 8 interiors, 10 chapter headings, cover, and slipcase for this illustrated edition. • I feel incredibly fortunate to have created work for a book I love so much, and I hope the images contribute something extra for readers. A huge thank you to The Folio Society and AD Sheri Gee for trusting me with this project and for taking such care in the production details. The end product is a stunning collector’s item that I’m very proud to be a part of. I can’t wait to share more of the work with you. • On creating the cover (without spoilers): The cover depicts Alia dressed in ceremonial garb as the head of the empire’s religious wing. Her rites and rituals strengthen the symbolism around Muad’Dib: a lowly desert creature transformed into an infinite godhead.
We wanted to keep continuity with FS’s edition of the first book, illustrated by Sam Weber (incidentally one of my favorite illustrators). So, Alia’s veil is a link back to Sam’s final illustration in Dune, which depicts Alia as small child. For me, the veil is a nod to the danger of prescience to lock the practitioner onto a fixed path, paradoxically limiting their view. Increasingly in Dune: Messiah, Alia represents religious dogma and the danger of having “blind faith” in a supreme figure or philosophy, so obscuring her eyesight seemed appropriate. And we also get this fitting line early in DM: “Such a rich store of myths enfolds Paul Muad’Dib…and his sister, Alia, it is difficult to see the real persons behind these veils.”
