The Hodge Podge: Jarvis Cocker & Kim Sion curate The Hepworth Wakefield
21 May 2027 – 31 October 2027
Tickets available in late-2026The Hepworth Wakefield is working with Yorkshire-born musician Jarvis Cocker and his wife, creative consultant Kim Sion, on an exhibition that will bring together a personal selection of artworks across an eclectic range of media and time periods.
This major exhibition (opening in May 2027) will include artists who have challenged mainstream ideas about what can be considered art. It will invite unlikely conversations and interesting encounters between artists such as Jeremy Deller, Peter Doig, Barbara Hepworth, Klara Kristalova, Emma Kunz, Mark Leckey and Agnes Pelton, as well as unknown outsider and visionary artists never exhibited in UK public museums.
Interested in alternative means of expression, the structures of class and how communities are able to come together outside of religious or high-brow contexts, Cocker and Sion are keen to explore alternative spiritualities, psychedelia, fandom, dreams, poetry and music. The Hodge Podge will include the immersive Dreamachine and encourage visitors to explore the many ways that creativity occurs inside and outside of cultural norms, bringing together both the familiar and strange.
Tickets for The Hodge Podge: Jarvis Cocker & Kim Sion curate The Hepworth Wakefield go on sale later this year with a priority booking period for Members of The Hepworth Wakefield. Find out more about Membership here.
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The Hodge Podge: Jarvis Cocker & Kim Sion curate The Hepworth Wakefield will take place during Yorkshire Sculpture International 2027 – a season of connected programming celebrating sculpture across the Yorkshire region. Yorkshire Sculpture International is a partnership with Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Art Gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, recognising Yorkshire as a hub for sculptural excellence.
‘Jarvis Cocker has a long-held interest in art, attending St Martin’s College of Art & Design in the early 1990s, and as a Yorkshireman, felt like the ideal person to work with to consider a fresh way of thinking about and experiencing art. The art that he and Kim have gathered together in The Hodge Podge will encourage the feelings of joy, marvel and curiosity that great works of art can inspire and offer our audiences an expanded idea of creativity and community. We are thrilled to be working with Jarvis and Kim on this incredibly exciting exhibition.’ Laura Smith, Artistic Director of The Hepworth Wakefield
‘The phrase “hodge podge” actually originated in the 15th century from the Middle English/French phrase hochepot, which meant a stew made of many ingredients. The exhibition provides an opportunity to understand where that creative urge comes from and what it can do for you… You’d be a fool to miss it.’ Jarvis Cocker & Kim Sion
The Hodge Podge Manifesto by Jarvis Cocker & Kim Sion
The Hodge Podge begins with a nest.
Bower birds build nests & then decorate them with objects they find in the surrounding area. There is no practical reason why they do this. They are the only creature in the entire animal kingdom that decorates its abode just for fun.
Except for humans.
Andy Holden’s “The Original of the Work of Art” is a human-sized replica of a bower bird’s nest.
Welcome to The Hodge Podge.
The dictionary says:
“A hodgepodge is a chaotic, disorderly mixture or a random assortment of diverse, unrelated things. It represents a jumble that lacks coherence or order.”
Yeah?
Couldn’t that also be the dictionary definition of the word “World”?
Jarvis & Kim sat on a bench in Madrid & looked at the central panel of Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” & fell in love.
With the painting.
& with each other.
With the Hodge Podge.
With the beauty.
We want to bring that beauty to The Hepworth Wakefield in 2027.
The phrase “hodge podge” actually originated in the 15th century from the Middle English/French phrase hochepot, which meant a stew made of many ingredients.
Many, many ingredients
Many, many artists
With only one thing in common:
We love them
We love them all
& we are going to put them all together & stand back &….
See What Happens.
The exhibition ends with Dreamachine – a machine that shows us that our minds make art – without us even thinking about it.
That is The Message:
You are an artist.
Even if you don’t know it.
Especially if you don’t know it.
We all are.
This is an opportunity to understand where that creative urge comes from & what it can do for you.
You’d be a fool to miss it.
