British artist Liam Gillick will collaborate with legendary Manchester band New Order, for New Order + Liam GIllick: So it goes…, a series of performances as part of Manchester International Festival in June and July.
New Order will take over Stage 1 of Manchester’s Old Granada Studios for five performances, which will see the band ‘deconstructing, rethinking and rebuilding’ material from across their career. Gillick will turn the spaces of the Granada Studios into an immersive environment and stage set responding dynamically to the music.
The band will play alongside a 12-strong synthesiser ensemble from the Royal Northern College of Music, with Mancunian composer Joe Duddell conducting and providing the orchestrations.
About his collaboration with the band, Gillick said “New Order have had an enormous influence on the way I make art. Their music continues to create new levels of intensity and control based on a constant testing of fundamental structures. Working with them is an opportunity to add a new layer to their unique form of deconstruction and desire.”
John McGrath, artistic director and CEO of Manchester International Festival said, “New Order are Manchester legends with a truly global influence and we are delighted to welcome them to MIF for this incredible project. It has been a pleasure to watch the collaboration with Liam Gillick develop over the past year – the band have worked with Liam in a deeply collaborative way to create a new context for their music, and a new experience for audiences.”
Also announced for MIF17 is True Faith, a major new exhibition celebrating the legacy of Joy Division and New Order in visual art. Curated by Matthew Higgs and Jon Savage with archivist Johan Kugelberg, True Faith is centred on four decades of work by artists such as Julian Schnabel, Jeremy Deller, Gillick, Mark Leckey and Slater Bradley.True Faith will feature Peter Saville’s seminal cover designs, plus performance films, music videos and posters from the likes of John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Lawrence Weiner, Jonathan Demme, Robert Longo and Kathryn Bigelow.
New Order + Liam GIllick: So it goes… will be performed on Thursday 29 June, Saturday 1, Thursday 6, Thursday 13 and Saturday 15 July 2017 at 8pm.
True Faith is at Manchester Art Gallery from Friday 30 June.
For more details see the Manchester International Festival website.
10 March 2017
