Disobedient Bodies short film reveals J. W. Anderson’s ideas for Hepworth Wakefield show

Angelo Dominic Sesto and Thomas Jeppe have directed a short documentary revealing the ideas behind J.W. Anderson’s Hepworth Wakefield show Disobedient Bodies. The exhibition combines figurative sculpture works by the likes of Henry Moore, Jean Arp and Hepworth with fashion pieces by Christian Dior, Issey Miyake, and many others.

The film commissioned by online retailer Ssense charts the lead-up to the much-lauded exhibition and interviews label founder Jonathan Anderson about his creative approach. It also explores the show and offers close-ups to many of the eclectic objects, looking at the textures, materials and unusual curation.

“It’s nice when you see something so famous seen in a different way,” he says in the film. “The dress on the table, like meat on the dinner table, [creates] a ghostly figure, which ultimately is neither fashion nor art… it blurs and smudges everything.”

“When I do a fashion show it’s made in three months and done in three minutes,” he continues. “In a society we live in now, it’s incredibly fast in terms of imagery, and I’m not against that … but with this it’s completely different. It’s two years, and it’s on for three months.”

Last month we wrote about OK-RM’s book for the show, put together with the gallery’s chief curator Andrew Bonacina and featuring photographs by Jamie Hawkesworth.