Gallery visit: JW Anderson - Disobedient Bodies

Disobedient Bodies is an exhibition curated by fashion designer Johnathan Anderson, in collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield. Anderson works with the early works of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore from the 1920s and 1930s that represent the human body in radical new ways. The abstracted sculptures (disobedient bodies) have led to an exhibition exploring how the human form has been reimagined over the course of the last century. 
The Disobedient Bodies exhibition is made up of more than one hundred objects which encourages conversation between art, fashion, ceramics and design. The show concentrates on 'disregarding the obvious characteristics of these objects and asking how things communicate with each other in 2017'. I found it interesting how each person at the gallery opening night had different opinions as to why Anderson had decided to curate the rooms in the particular way. It was interesting to engage in discussions with people that I may not have ever had the opportunity to unless I had attended the opening night event.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show JW Anderson, 28 Jumpers. This installation was made up of oversized jumpers in various knit for the JW Anderson S/S 2017 menswear collection. The exhibition invites visitors to gain a tactile experience, highlighting the touch in understanding objects. The visitors are encouraged to engage with the materials however they want, becoming part of the material and echoing the shapes created in the photographs (seen in figure 1) on the wall behind the 28 Jumpers, The Thinleys photographs by Jamie Hawkesworth.

Figure 4 shows the Jean Paul Gaultier, Cone Dress acting as a frame to the Henry Moore, Reclining Figure. The decision to fill the corset and display it in the same way as the Reclining Figure was in attempt to emphasise how the form in both is found through their materials. An artist visiting the galley came up to me and passionately explained this concept to me before I had read the description, making it much more memorable and engaging. This is a reason as to why I have enjoyed going to lots of galleries and opening events recently. 

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4