Immerse your self on the earth of Wes Anderson
From pastels to hyper-stylized symmetry, what arguably holds all of Wes Anderson's beloved films together is their distinctive aesthetic, which usually feels almost too meticulously constructed to be real.
Since 2017, Wally Koval has been trying to bottle the director's unique visual magic in the form of Accidentally Wes Anderson, an Instagram account dedicated to images of eye-catching locations around the world that look like they've stepped straight out of one of his films.
Above: Amer Fort, Rajasthan, India, c. 1592. Photo: Chris Schalkx; Above: Wharf Shed, Glenorchy, New Zealand, c. 1885. Photo: Frida Berg
The delicious pictures and fascinating insights into the stories behind these places have earned him cult status with dedicated Anderson fans and curious newcomers.
It now has well over a million followers on Instagram and is so loved by the social media giant's team that a conference room in its New York office is apparently named after it.
Hotel Opera, Prague, Czech Republic, c. 1891 Photo: Valentina Jacks
The secret to the account's huge success was its consistent commitment to meeting the director stranger than fiction. In a previous conversation with CR, Koval said, "I don't think there is any specific way of defining it, simply because I think it goes beyond the characteristics we might list."
“I see it more as something amorphous, you just know it when you see it. I think this makes it all the more fun when you run into it in real life, especially when you walk down the street and see something that just catches the eye. "
Crawley Edge Boatshed, Perth, Australia, c. 1930s. Photo: James Wong
Now Wes Anderson is accidentally brought from URL to IRL in a new book of the same name. The book features images and stories collected by both professional photographers and vacationers using smartphones. It also includes an exciting new addition – a foreword from the filmmaker.
"The photos in this book were taken by people I've never met, places and things I've never seen, almost without exception – but I have to say: I plan," writes Anderson.
"Wally Koval and his staff have put together a very entertaining collection of pictures as well as a particularly enticing guidebook (at least in this Wes Wes opinion)."
By mistake, Wes Anderson is released from Orion-Overprint Trapeze; orionbooks.co.uk