Maldivian artist's work featured in Hollywood movie poster

Hollywood movie 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' which is currently in cinemas has released its latest poster featuring Maldivian digital artist Ali Shimhaq's work.

Shimhaq, originally from Feydhoo, Addu City, currently works for American creative agency The Poster Posse. The agency works with several big names of Hollywood such as 20th Century Studios, Marvel and Pixar.

The science fiction action movie, which was released last Wednesday, is distributed by 20th Century Studios and directed by Wes Ball, the same director behind 'Maze Runner'. Lead actors in the movie include Freya Allan, Lydia Peckham and Owen Teague.

Shimhaq has previously also worked on similar projects such as the poster for Universal's Renfield movie, as well as posters for Starfield game by Bethesda Game Studios. He also worked with Play Station and Naughty Dog to create their The Last of Us games' 10th year anniversary poster.

Speaking with local media, Shimhaq explained that artists are selected for such projects by Studios after reviewing individual artists' profiles. Once an offer is made and non disclosure agreements are signed, the work begins, he said.

"Then we split up the project into various stages, to deliver the final product on the designated deadline," he said.

"When creating posters for movies, [I] normally start work 3-4 weeks before the movie is released. [and] then finish it close to the film's release date, so it can be used for the movie's marketing. My poster was also released like that," he explained.

Shimhaq is currently one of the most notable digital artists in the local art scene, with his work getting international attention previously as well.

Previously Shimhaq was involved in a legal battle between the late Aaron Carter after Shimhaq's art piece titled 'Cosmic Lion' was used by Carter in 2019 without Shimhaq's explicit approval.

Shimhaq won the case in US courts which was fought by Maldivian lawyers Hamza Khaleel and Aishath Shaifa Shahid on his behalf who worked with US law firm Sanders Law Group.