The French Dispatch
Client: The Store X LTD
Location: 180 The Strand
Completion: October 2021
Brief: To design (in collaboration with Kevin Timon Hill – Art Director of the movie) curate and install an exhibition bringing together an extraordinary collection of artefacts from the new Wes Anderson movie ‘The French Dispatch’.
This exhibition, designed and delivered in 4-weeks to be in time for the film’s opening at London Film Week, navigates through its exquisite props, costumes and models over a series of dressed rooms, taking you on a magical journey within the found spaces of 180 The Strand.
Our approach to the exhibition’s design was not to attempt to recreate film sets for the artefacts from the movie, but to shine a light on their specific qualities and the role they play in creating the film’s internal world while calling to mind the key characters that bring them to life.
The film tells 3 different stories within its main narrative; The Concrete Masterpiece, Revisions to a Manifesto and The Private Dining Room, along with an introduction to the city of Ennui-sur-Blazé and the exhibition is divided into rooms for each of these. Each one was allocated a colour (extracted from the palette of the movie) which was then applied to the front of the low display plinths in each room, giving it its own distinct identity and helping visitors navigate the transition from one to the next.
A high number of props, costumes and exhibition posters required display and we designed coloured joinery boxes following the established colour scheme to be inserted within the existing wall recesses. The internal division of the boxes helped to highlight the particular persona of the character to which the items belonged, telling their story.
The defined nature of the gallery spaces within 180 and their connections helped us to structure the visitor experience, giving a clear sense of the different worlds within the film and the transitional areas between them. We created a fixed one-way route in order to support the sequencing of the storylines but kept implementation light and intuitive.
Back of house spaces were transformed into exhibition spaces via joinery units hung within and spotlights on the exhibited artworks to help create a gallery feel. Sound and video installations further helped to bring the film’s key characters to life in these areas.
An open stud wall structure created division within one of the spaces dedicated to the film’s three narratives, supporting large hanging panels and creating a backdrop for the exhibited items. The gaps between the timber studs help maintain the visual connection between the different spaces, supporting flow of light and keeping the different stories alive as you move through.
The journey ends in a French café (designed and installed by MDM props) the exact reproduction of the one in the movie, where visitors can indulge in a selection of food inspired by the French café culture.
Team
Installation:
Construction – Sam Forsters
Lighting – Beam Lighting Design
