Christina Wigmore, 2023 MA Fashion & Textiles Graduate interviews Rhys Davies, Senior Lecturer in De Montfort University’s Leicester Media School.
IMAGES: Christina Wigmore (2022) Leicester Gallery - Andrew Logan Exhibition
An inspirational group of artists emerged in the early 1970s pushing the boundaries of art, film, performance and design. They were the true punks and art eccentrics that occupied the decaying and abandoned factories and warehouses of London’s South Bank and the creative community centred around Butlers Wharf.
In the summer of 2022, Andrew Logan’s exhibition celebrating 30 years of Alternative Miss World opened at Leicester Gallery. I was privileged on that day, to be asked to do a short interview with Andrew as part of a film being made about him and his contemporaries by a team of academics and students at De Montfort University; and a fascinating story unfolded. The film is still in progress but I managed to get a quick Q&A with Rhys Davies, who reveals the story behind the film.
IMAGES: Christina Wigmore (2022) Leicester Gallery - Andrew Logan Exhibition
Can you give an overview about the Butlers Wharf film, the group of artists the film focuses on and how the team at De Montfort University got involved?
Them: The Real Punks focuses on a group of artists, sculptors, musicians and performers who emerged from a fag end of the 1960s and congregated on London’s Southbank. It examines a movement which hasn’t been documented before. Arriving before punk, these creatives truly lived their art. Occupying abandoned warehouses such as Butlers Wharf with no running water, heating and poor sanitation they created work which influenced all those that have come since.
Which artists and creatives does the film focus on and how they have contributed?
The film focuses on an amazing cast including Sian Phillips, Andrew Logan, Jodie Fields, Zandra Rhodes, Rocky Horror Show cast member, Koo Stark, Adam Ant, Derek Jarman, Divine, Jenny Rebecca, The Sex Pistols, Duggie Fields, and many more. Extensive interviews have been recorded over the last six years and the film includes exclusive access to the Andrew Logan and Zandra Rhodes archives at De Montfort University.
IMAGE: Zandra Rhodes. Photo by Rhys Davies
What do you think the value of the film will be as a piece of social history and in sharing the stories of the artists, their legacy and influence to the wider arts world?
The legacy of Them – The Real Punks documentary will be to highlight this movement, one that hasn’t been appreciated before for its massive influence on not just art but the wider world. It documents a time before gentrification of cities, where artists could live very cheaply or for free and focus purely on their art. It highlights the need in any society for these people, those who can create fashion and sculpture and films that inspire, create a sense of awe, and make us believe in a better world.
In 1970s London this community flourished. Once the Southbank was identified as an area where money could be made, the developers moved in and the artists dispersed. The end of an era. But, from this time a legacy began which can still be seen today, whether in the iconic fashion of Zandra Rhodes, the art-drag-fashion influence of Andrew Logan’s Alternative Miss World, or the avant-garde filmmaking style of Derek Jarman.
Andrew Logan has been heavily involved and he and Zandra Rhodes now have a strong connection to DMU through their archives being housed here in Special Collections. I’m guessing this wasn’t the case when the film was started. Has this given the film more of a connection to DMU?
The film originated with the filmmaker Marcus Campbell-Sinclair. He was documenting Andrew Logan’s Glasshouse In The Sky - his London residence. It soon became apparent there was a bigger story here – an artistic movement which remains largely undocumented. As the project developed it became larger in scope. Andrew donated his archive to De Montfort University, and later Zandra Rhodes did the same. With these archives and some of the filmmaking team being DMU staff, students and alumni, the film really has a very strong connection with the university. When Marcus sadly passed away two years ago he entrusted film lecturer Rhys Davies and PhD researcher Robert Chilcott to see through the film’s completion. Students have been involved in research, archiving, and the production of the film in various crew roles.
What stage is the film at and what are the plans once it’s finished?
Currently we are editing the footage shot so far. This will enable us to see what further interviews we need in order to complete the project. The aim is to also shoot some sections on super 8 cameras, to mimic the shooting style of the filmmaker Derek Jarman. When this is completed, we can run test screenings to gather feedback and to tweak the film to make it something that the late Marcus Campbell Sinclair would be proud of.
Can you think of ways the film could be used here at DMU to inspire fashion, art and design students in their work and are there any plans for this?
We believe that screenings of the film at De Montfort University will inspire students. Today’s world is a hard one for artists to work in. The cost of housing and renting studios is so high it becomes almost impossible for communities of artists to even exist, and individuals can all too easily become sucked into the 9-to-5. But true art always finds a way. The artists in our film overcame their own adversities by staying true to what they believed in. It doesn’t matter what the outside world thinks, we all as artists need to stay true to our vision and keep creating.
IMAGE: Adam Ant. Photo by Rhys Davies
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