Object & Animal’s Jordan Hemingway Takes Us Inside FKA twigs’ Dreamworld

In an era where music videos are often confined by algorithms and attention spans, ‘Childlike Things’ boldly breaks the mold and confronts the state of the industry. A collaboration between FKA twigs and Jordan, the eight-minute short film feels more like a cinematic poem than a standard promo – fusing script, movement, music, and emotion in a dreamlike ode to imagination.

Directed by a long-time creative partner of twigs, the piece is rooted in their obsessive creative process and mutual trust. Jordan shares how the story came to life, the challenges of shaping a film in just a day, and why childlike wonder lies at the heart of twigs’ wider album, ‘Eusexua’’s ever-expanding world.

LBB> What was the initial brief for this project?

Jordan> To celebrate daydreaming and creativity and the power of imagination. To depart from ‘reality’ into a realm of childlike wonder and play.

LBB> And how closely did you work with FKA twigs to bring this vision to life? How much did she influence the direction of the video?

Jordan> twigs and I are obsessive – we sleep, eat and breathe our work. There is no separation in our lives. This means from the moment we’re awake, to the last moment before we close our eyes is consumed by dreaming up things. We live and breathe ‘Eusexua’.

LBB> Did the song guide the visuals, or did the concept develop independently?

Jordan> twigs wrote the song when she was a teenager, and North [West] being featured on it closed the loop, it’s a collaboration between two kids. Such a uniquely beautiful journey for the song to take. Naturally, we wanted to explore imagination at the core of the concept.

LBB> The promo runs at eight minutes and feels more like a short film, with a structured script and moments of disruption between performance and acting. Why did this feel like the best decision?

Jordan> We had to work so quickly to put this aspect of it together, we reached out with a story outline to our dear friend, Jeremy O. Harris, who overnight wrote the script. He wrote it to run at eight minutes long, so we shot it that way.

It was an incredible feat to shoot all the narrative scenes along I love, with the heavily rehearsed and choreographed dream sequences in a single day. wwigs dove into her character immediately and together we just sunk our teeth into it creatively and shaped it as we went, it was exhilarating.

LBB> Tell me about the development of this promo and how much preparation was involved in pre-production?

Jordan> twigs has been recording ‘Euesuexa’ for four years and we’ve been working on it together for over two years now. As I mentioned earlier, we’re obsessive when we work, so when the singles were chosen there was so much ammunition in the bank.

Years of research and artistic inspiration had built up, so when the time came to piece together the puzzle of the various videos – including this one – everything fell into place naturally. The actual prep of the shoot was quick. It only took roughly two weeks, but developing the thought behind it took a lot longer. Everything particularly fell into place in the last few days but that was through no accident. It’s the rewards and efforts of a strong creative foundation for ‘Eusexua’ and all the moving parts.

LBB> FKA twigs is known for her physicality – how much did you both want to incorporate that into the film?

Jordan> It is at the core of the film.

LBB> What was it like directing her performance, given her extensive stage experience?

Jordan> It's really just reacting, shaping delicately where needed, but she’s incredibly self-sufficient. She knows her character and then becomes it. Juliette Binoche once said to me, ‘Cast your actors well and let them work.’ That’s very much the process with twigs. She knows her character and she fully becomes immersed by it. Her language beyond that of her body is rooted in character and emotion. And this comes naturally to her. It’s especially something close to her, so the best thing to do is to just not get in the way.

LBB> Were there any specific moments or movements that were particularly challenging or exciting to capture?

Jordan> Due to the ambitious nature of the shoot we had to make changes on the fly, both to the schedule and the creative. These incredibly rapid-fire location, set or creative changes meant we had to be really rooted and trust in our gut instincts.

twigs and I both took turns making the call on certain things. It was a whirlwind. But that’s what I love about working with her – she’s a true partner. Our creative relationship is so deeply reliant on us trusting each other to allow the process to just flow. It’s a thing of beauty.

LBB> How does this video’s concept fit into the wider themes of twigs' ‘Eusexua’ album?

Jordan> It’s different, it shows a more playful side. ‘Eusexua’ is about connecting with the fleeting moments in life – the ones we chase as artists and humans where connecting feels fully aligned.

The moment of ‘Eusexua’ may be fleeting but the beauty is unparalleled. What is more representative of that than childlike wonder and imagination? This film talks about some of the obstacles but also celebrates the beauty that is created with your child's mind. Having North's abundant energy on set was incredible because she’s so young and so switched on. It really brought the film full circle.

LBB> The video feels like an ironic commentary on the state of the music video industry. What’s your perspective on where things currently stand?

Jordan> It’s all a bit of a mess isn’t it? It’s all lived experience, and we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. These old systems aren’t working in the new world, with archaic managers treating artists like shit.

It’s the curse of short form content. ‘Content’ has become core to the industry, yet we face countless challenges in our plight to make true art. It’s a strange time… but also a wonderful one, to have artists like twigs, who still believe in the artistry of music videos. She brings care and takes the time to commit to making her videos amazing – and she’s so dedicated to the detail on screen and behind the scenes, championing the craft in its purest form.

With her at the helm, producers like Morgan, and Alex at Object and Animal and people like Dave Rocco and her whole team at Atlantic there is hope.

It’s the curse of short-form content—'content' has become the industry’s core, yet we face countless challenges in the pursuit of making true art. It’s a strange time… but also a hopeful one, thanks to artists like twigs, who still believe in the artistry of music videos. She brings care, time, and deep commitment to every detail—both on screen and behind the scenes—championing the craft in its purest form.