Joseph Wilson creates a powerful visual allegory around the return of Patrick Wolf in The Bowline Knot - a short film that incorporates two songs from Wolf's EP The Night Safari - the artist's first full body of work in ten years.

The monochromatic film features title track The Night Safari and Nowhere Game - the latter released separately in March. In the full film, it is revealed to be the climactic second half of an extraordinary journey that Wolf undertakes. It comes via boat on Styx-like river, from a domestic house and garden to forbidding industrial complex, but the move represents his escape from claustrophobic inertia to activity, and final angelic glory.  

Wilson provides Wolf's redemption with his distinctive sensibility, full of vivid iconography and incredible costumery - Wolf collaborated with Marco Tullio Siviglia for the wonderfully creative costume design - and myth and religious symbolism are drawn into an aesthetic that nods to the tradition of queer filmmaking.

Above all, the fact everything is shot at night, filmed in black and white, establishes a dreamlike tone of endless possibilities. A highly appropriate way to mark the return of Patrick Wolf as a unique and idiosyncratic creative force.   

JOSEPH WILSON:  

“When Patrick first approached me, he mentioned that he had two videos that were being released, and it had always been a dream of mine since watching Vincent Haycock’s The Odyssey [for Florence + The Machine] to create a short film that connected multiple tracks - so we decided to release The Night Safari as a prequel to Nowhere Game.

"Patrick had introduced me to the thrilling boat scene in Night Of The Hunter, which helped me to bridge the two films together, and shooting on water felt imperative to the music Patrick had created. We shot the video over three days, including a reshoot on the canal... It was completely iced over, and I had to go out with my DP to break the ice with a rowing oar so that we could shoot!

"The edit was fused by my interest in Artist Moving Image and drew inspiration from Paul Bettell’s Queer psychedelic Illegal Tender. Some of the footage felt too ‘clean’ in post so I played around with crystal earrings and broken glass to make the shots feel more menacing and distorted.

"Getting to work with Patrick after all these years was a real privilege. I am so proud of the magic we created and grateful to Patrick for inviting me on board and letting my creativity run wild.”